The True Story of the Cocaine Bear: This is the craziest movie of the year earlier this year

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The film is based on a thought-provoking story: in 1985, a shipment of cocaine that disappeared after a plane crash was actually swallowed by a brown bear. A black comedy featuring a misfit group of cops, criminals, tourists and teenagers who all find themselves deep in the heart of the forest in Georgia towards the very spot where a 200-plus-pound super-predator rides in, enraged and bloodthirsty. Kilograms, who went completely insane after taking a staggering dose of cocaine.

Pablo Escobar

In 2010, A The video went viral Theorized that behind every character we meet in The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, there is actually a type of drug hidden. Thus, the hero dressed in a red sweater was always associated with the use of marijuana with calmness, lack of aggressiveness and addiction to honey. But would this analysis be the same if its author had heard about the news that inspired Crazy Bear?

Because yes: as crazy as it sounds, Elizabeth Banks’ third feature film (after Pitch Perfect 2 and Charlie’s Angels) is inspired by a true story that happened in 1985. A bear that found about thirty pounds of clean. cocaine in a backpack in the middle of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest (Georgia) and died of an overdose after taking a small amount. An autopsy found 3 to 4 grams of the animal’s blood before it was stuffed and turned into a tourist attraction in the city of Lexington.

But how could such an event happen? It must be related to the discovery of the body of drug lord Andrew Thornton, who was found in Knoxville on September 20, 1985, with cash, a firearm and the keys to a small plane. The one from which he threw the cargo he was carrying while trying to escape, in vain, from its wreck. That’s how the bear ended up with cocaine, even though some of the bag’s contents were never found.

Produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Lego’s Big Adventure, 21 Jump Street), Crazy Bear takes these elements of the story of those who called themselves. “Pablo Escobar” After these facts, which are generally unknown in France. And they turned it all, with the help of screenwriter Jimmy Worden and then Elizabeth Banks, into a completely insane horror comedy in which the animals kill people they meet, from cops to criminals to teenagers.

All invented for the needs of the film (with the exception of Andrew Thornton, played by Matthew Rhys), the characters do not shine with their intelligence, on the contrary, to the extent that Crazy Bear could have been an opus of the Coen brothers. . It’s not, but Elizabeth Banks does a very good job, even if she could use a little more of the craziness of it all. This does not prevent it from offering one of the funniest scenes of the beginning of the year.

There is also the most effective feature film in humor. More so than when he gets serious in his last act, and then seems to lack the juice, contradicting the note of intent that was the first few minutes, his quote about bear resistance techniques… from Wikipedia.

Or the very ironic use of the clip, in which the stars of the time were mobilized in the fight against drugs, President Ronald Reagan’s hobby horse. Not forgetting the cast’s 80s looks, with a special mention to Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family) as Benny Hill lookalike. (pictured above). Little known music and accelerated images.

From Keri Russell to Oshie Jackson Jr., through Margot Martindale, Alden Ehrenreich (who reunited with the Lord-Miller duo of which he was a soloist until they were fired during filming) or Ray Liotta, who is on one. The last roles, it seems, all the casting is having fun with this bear in the images of the synthesis, which regularly loosens the nose, adds nervousness and aggressiveness. A horror comedy with plenty of craziness. Even if the craziest part is still saying it’s based on a true story.