No spoilers
There is an affinity for the 80s and 90s in entertainment and in fashion. One item that continues to dominate culture is the Air Jordan 1. The sneaker dropped in 85 and immediately became a staple for one particular audience, dope boys. While the price of the sneaker when it released was a fraction of what the model can sell for today, it was still prohibitive for parents, and this made it aspirational for kids. It helped that the marketing around the kicks was amazing, and Jordan was the real deal, but none of that mattered as much as the people who were capable of rocking the sneakers. Every guy who had a pair also had phat gold chains and dope cars. The Air Jordan 1 was no different than the adidas Superstar being worn by Run-DMC. The all-leather black suit and adidas is known as the attire of a stick-up kids in New York. Fashion has always derived from the street and the fact that the movie Cocaine Bear begins with one of the main characters, a dope boy, trying to keep his Chicago 1s clean is true to the era.
Our crew decided to watch the movie after chumping out on watching Annabelle. No one wanted to pull an afternoon double feature of The Nun and Annabelle as it got dark (we watch horror early so we can sleep better at night, lol). Cocaine Bear popped up on the selection in the search and everyone glanced at each other and said, “F it.” The concept of a bear becoming addicted to cocaine is absurd, but we all figured if Ray Liotta was in the film, it would either be quirky or interesting enough to carry the film. Add in Isaiah Whitlock Jr. from The Wire and you just might have a more serious movie than expected. We were right, but it wasn’t serious, and it wasn’t just Liotta who lit up the screen. O’Shea Jackson Jr. aka Ice Cube’s son as the reluctant, Jordan 1 wearing dope dealer stole the show. The trailers had shown that it would be wild and after watching Ozarks and Snowfall, the film could have gone dark or simply be ridiculous. It was ridiculous.
The movie might have been the best decision the crew has made in a long time. Actually, that would be the Wham Documentary on Netflix, but Cocaine Bear was as wild as expected. It was a gruesome, comedic genius of a film placing an interesting cast in the midst of a drugged-out bear committing some of the most brutal attacks in the history of film. Maybe it was the opening of the film and the fact that we are re-watching Game of Thrones that pulled us in (our favorite Wildling, Tormund kicks off the action) but there are moments in this flick that made me damn near cry laughing. The based on a true story aspect makes Cocaine Bear even more insane. If you’re a fan of slasher films and you can handle the gore, Cocaine Bear is more than worth the time, especially as a double header after watching something creepy from the Conjuring universe. It’s an easy 4 out of 5, yep it’s that good.
