<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If my plan has worked, you’ve clicked on this article to express your anger at the outrageous </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">AND VERY REAL</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> opinion proposed in the title. Flawless execution on my part.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I am a firm believer that not all movies have to be high art– sometimes, we just need something that is entertaining. Now, I would like to qualify this by stating that I do not believe that these lighter movies need to be poorly written or actively bad. There is a balance that must be reached, and in my opinion, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cocaine Bear </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">is both entertaining, while also being pretty funny if I do say so myself. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I would like to issue a warning before we proceed. This review will have spoilers. I am going to repeat that for those who have already tuned out: </span><b>THIS REVIEW WILL HAVE SPOILERS</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I’m going to jump into this review assuming you have some sort of idea of what happens throughout </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cocaine Bear</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, but here is a brief synopsis: After throwing a large amount of cocaine out of a plane, a drug dealer sends two of his men– one of which is his son– to recover the stash. Uh oh! There’s a bear in this forest and, shocker, he has consumed most of the cocaine! Whoopsy! What’s the bear gonna do? She’s gonna go on a rampage and kill everything in sight. Good times.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_13357" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-13357" style="width: 352px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img class=" wp-image-13357" src="https://tulanemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2023-03-15-at-12.41.50-PM.png" alt="" width="352" height="232" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-13357" class="wp-caption-text">Image via Screen Rant.</figcaption></figure>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I think the most anticipated part of the film– apart from a bear doing copious amounts of cocaine, of course– is that this is one of Ray Liotta’s </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">last projects. In all honesty, he did a great job and he’s still just as menacing as he was all those years ago in </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Goodfellas. </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s nice to see him take a movie like </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cocaine Bear </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">and take it just as seriously as some of his older projects, and in my mind, it makes me happy that he would want to be involved in such a fun and silly film. I believe that Liotta starring in </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cocaine Bear </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">was a nice way to round out a fulfilling career, and a choice that will allow people to remember Liotta in his final days fondly.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_13358" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-13358" style="width: 314px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img class=" wp-image-13358" src="https://tulanemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2023-03-15-at-12.43.37-PM.png" alt="" width="314" height="208" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-13358" class="wp-caption-text">Image via Novastream.</figcaption></figure>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On the topic of the film’s stars, I was extremely impressed with O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Alden Ehrenreich’s performances as the mismatched drug dealer duo trying to retrieve their supply from the forest. The pair had great chemistry and played off of each other wonderfully, creating a dynamic that was entertaining to watch throughout the film. I hope that this film allows them to venture further into obcure comedy, because I really think they shine in this context.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In many ways, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cocaine Bear </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">has been the first slasher film in recent memory that has united people in a way that I think we as a country have needed given the events that have taken place over the last few years. For so long we were unable to enjoy films as they were meant to be seen: on the big screen, in a dark theater, with strangers around us. Going into a theater to see a film with such an outrageous premise is oddly freeing. I was able to laugh along with those who had taken the time out of their day to all converge in a single room, and my God did it make the experience more enjoyable. Films are a thousand times more enjoyable when you can laugh along with others. No matter what the film– </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cocaine Bear</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> included– it’s thrilling to see a movie on the big screen and take in the sights and sounds of the world that was created.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_13360" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-13360" style="width: 339px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img class=" wp-image-13360" src="https://tulanemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2023-03-15-at-12.44.36-PM.png" alt="" width="339" height="225" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-13360" class="wp-caption-text">Image via People.</figcaption></figure>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Also, I fully enjoyed the inclusion of the Cocaine Bear on stage when Elizabeth Banks was presenting at the Oscars the other night. I think we need more people to put on animal costumes and allow hijinks to ensue on national television… it’s truly a lost art form. While I deeply enjoyed this cameo, we are not going to talk about the Cocaine Bear’s interaction with Malala during the awards show… although the sentence “Cocaine Bear, leave Malala alone,” was not a sentence I expected to hear in my lifetime.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Overall, I’m happy with this film and I had a damn good time watching it. I mean, what more can you ask from a movie entitled</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Cocaine Bear</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">? It’s going to be a silly little movie about a bear that gets addicted to cocaine and would subsequently kill numerous people in a forest for it. Perhaps that’s what we need in such a stressful day and age– some cocaine, a bear, and a forest to watch the hijinks ensue. </span></p>
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<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Featured image via Mercedes Ohlen.</span></i></p>
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<div class="wp-biographia-container-top" style="background-color: #FFEAA8; border-top: 4px solid #000000;"><div class="wp-biographia-pic" style="height:100px; width:100px;"><img alt='' src='https://tulanemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/mercedes-close-copy-e1679930693496.jpg' srcset='https://tulanemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/mercedes-close-copy-e1679930693496.jpg 2x' class='wp-biographia-avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-biographia-text"><h3>About <a href="https://tulanemagazine.com/author/mercedes-ohlen/" title="Mercedes Ohlen">Mercedes Ohlen</a></h3><p>Mercedes was The Crescent’s Editor-in-Chief from 2022-2023. She graduated from Tulane with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. She enjoys going to the movies, fashion, and writing about the great city of New Orleans. She will be pursuing a career within the entertainment industry upon her graduation from Tulane. No topic is too obscure, and no story too niche. Roll Wave!</p><div class="wp-biographia-links"><small><ul class="wp-biographia-list wp-biographia-list-text"><li><a href="mailto:m&#111;hl&#101;n&#64;t&#117;la&#110;e.&#101;&#100;&#117;" target="_self" title="Send Mercedes Ohlen Mail" class="wp-biographia-link-text">Mail</a></li> | <li><a href="https://tulanemagazine.com/author/mercedes-ohlen/" target="_self" title="More Posts By Mercedes Ohlen" class="wp-biographia-link-text">More Posts(38)</a></li></ul></small></div></div></div><!-- WP Biographia v4.0.0 -->

VERY REAL OPINION: Cocaine Bear Was Snubbed at the Oscars
