There is a scene in the high-concept anti-drug comedy thriller, "Cocaine Bear," where Henry (Christian Convey), a 12-year-old, watches in awe and horror as someone is mauled by the titular animal — a bear that has ingested blow. Henry breathlessly exclaims, "I'd love not to remember that, but it's the kind of thing that stays with you!" And while this line delivery is mildly amusing, most of "Cocaine Bear" is not. Nor is it memorable. Many of the set pieces in director Elizabeth Banks' one-joke film are shocking because they are so boring. This film promises laughs and scares but manages to deliver neither.
"Cocaine Bear" is based on a true story of Andrew Carter Thornton II, who dropped several duffle bags of cocaine into the Chattahoochee National Forest in Northern Georgia in 1985 and himself as well — only his parachute didn't open and he died on impact. Thornton's backstory, which (according to the film's press kit) reportedly involves him being a narcotics cop, a DEA agent and a cocaine smuggler, among other things, is actually more interesting that what is seen in Banks' lackluster film. Screenwriter Jimmy Warden does not have the bear die of an overdose — as happened when a 175-pound black bear consumed kilos of coke (because there would be no movie) — and instead has the animal attacking various characters in uninspired ways.
