Like “Snakes on a Plane” and “We Bought a Zoo,” Elizabeth Banks’s film “Cocaine Bear” provides exactly what the title promises, Anthony Lane writes: “she has simply made a film about a bear that does coke.” Then what?
Darkness falls. Out in the woods, under the pelting of a pitiless storm, a middle-aged American male, stripped to the waist, fights a furious bear. This elemental sequence comes from a 1977 film, scarily titled “Day of the Animals,” and the joy of it is that the battling man is played by Leslie Nielsen, and that the movie is not—repeat, not—intended as a comedy. What, you may ask, could top that?
The trouble with high-concept films, though, is not the concept but the height. We laugh when we first hear about them, and we relish the buzz of the trailers; given that level of anticipation, it’s no surprise when the movies themselves take a tumble. Such was the case with “Snakes on a Plane” , and it’s my forlorn duty to report that “Cocaine Bear” follows suit.
Were you to sit down and watch all five movies that are thrashing it out for Best International Feature Film at this year’s Academy Awards, what a curious binge it would be. You could start with “Argentina, 1985,” which, despite relying on the well-worn custom of the courtroom finale, has a refreshing lack of stridency. Next up would be “Close” and “EO”—the first being a saddening saga of two Belgian boys, and the second a form of pilgrimage.
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‘Cocaine Bear’ Is a Metaphor—Or Maybe Just About a Bear on Cocaine“I felt like there was no greater metaphor for the chaos all around us than a bear who is high on cocaine,” director Elizabeth Banks says of her self-explanatory horror comedy.
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10 Bear Movies (Including Cocaine Bear) Where the Bear Was RightCocaine Bear is just the latest instance of watching a movie and going, 'You know what? The bear was right.' Here's a list of ten movies where bears had the moral, ethical, or strategic upper hand:
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‘Cocaine Bear’ Team on Committing to the Outrageous Title and Bringing the Killer Bear to LifeStars Keri Russell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and O'Shea Jackson Jr. open up about shooting opposite a stunt actor in a bear head and seeing the finished CGI product: 'This is not a Windows 98 situation, we had to have top of the line.'
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'Cocaine Bear's Kahyun Kim Wears Bear-Shaped Pasties to PremiereThe 33-year-old actress made a bold fashion statement at the film's premiere Tuesday night.
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Why Keri Russell Did ‘Cocaine Bear’: ‘Why the F*ck’ Not?Keri Russell tells beastobsessed why she signed on for CocaineBear and explains what it was like to film the wild movie: “When I read it, I couldn’t believe a studio was going to make this movie. I still can’t. I feel like they might still pull it.”
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Elizabeth Banks Interview: Cocaine BearWe chat with CocaineBear director ElizabethBanks about how family is the heart of the film, why nature always defeats man, and her hopes of getting justice for the real bear:
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