Cocaine Bear * * *

Apparently this did actually happen.  A bear did eat a bag of cocaine. There are no reports of the bear then going on a rampage, but don't let the truth spoil a good story

In the 1980's a drug dealer parachuted from a plane with a duffel bag full of cocaine. His parachute didn't open. He plummeted to his own death, whilst the duffel bag of cocaine landed in the national park. 

In this re-telling of the event, the bear becomes an overnight cocaine addict and is ready to kill for more. 

The eighties lends itself well for this film as it was a time before mobile phones, so no one can use that device to get out of trouble.  And the people in this film are in a lot of trouble!  

Yogi wants the yeyo!

We have a lovesick park ranger, two kids playing truant, a distraught Mum chasing after them, a detective, three teenage juvenile delinquents, a couple of Swedish hikers, gangster drug dealers and too many more to mention.  I really don't know who is the lead character here, I guess it's the bear. 

As no human is the hero here you can't be sure who is going to live or die.  Anyone is likely to get knocked off which adds to the fun.

Meanwhile, the kids find the cocaine and give it a go, the park ranger gets messed up by the bear, the animal welfare officer gets consumed by the bear and the juvenile delinquents find more trouble than the bear would offer when they cross the unforgiving drug dealers. 

It's got some deliberately off-key acting and dialogue, I assume it is sending up some of the awful made for television films of the eighties.  It's also got some uproariously funny scenes with a layer of shock value. The ambulance scene is a stand out as mayhem reigns to the bopping sound of Depeche Mode. If you're here for the gore there is enough to satisfy without scaring off those who just want the laughs.

It's directed by Elizabeth Banks who has done some good comedy in her time so she know how to hit the right spot.