Why You Should Be Excited For 'Cocaine Bear'!

Among the most anticipated movies of 2023, there’s one in particular that stands out from the crowd.

This year, we can expect to see the return of Indiana Jones to the big screen for the first time since 2008 in Indiana Jones: The Dial of Destiny. We also have the exciting return of Miles Morales in Spider Man: Across the Spiderverse. These movies are well worth the hype, but among the films in this year’s lineup, there is one that is so undeniably insane that we just have to talk about it. That movie is Cocaine Bear. 

Based on a true story from 1985, the movie is set to follow a manic black bear who ingests a bag of cocaine that fell from the sky and now terrorizes the residents of Knoxville, Tennessee. Wrapping your head around the premise is one thing, but seeing the actual footage in motion is something that can't really be put into words. 

The combination of the trailer’s comedic yet frantic tone and the absurd true story behind the movie may make Cocaine Bear a viable pick for theater goers who may want to watch something more original. The trailer makes the movie out to be an outlandish joyride of ridiculous thrills. The ambulance chase sequence stands out and makes the bear out to be a mammal on a mission to hunt down the townsfolk. Said mission just so happens to involve lots of cocaine.  

The movie is directed by Elizabeth Banks, known for her acting roles in Pitch Perfect and The Hunger Games as well as the director of the 2019 Charlie’s Angels film and Pitch Perfect 2. Joining her is actress Margo Martindale, known for acting in "New Girl" and voicing characters in "Bojack Horseman" and "Ducktales", Han Solo himself Alden Ehrenreich, and Keri Russell of "The Americans" and "Felicity" fame. Ray Liotta will also make an appearance in one of his last acting performances in this movie before his passing on May 26, 2022.  

The film is set to release on Feburary 23 with a runtime of an hour and thirty-five minutes. If you want an outlandish, off-the-wall movie that will keep you and your friends guessing about how utterly absurd the stakes can get, this is the film for you!