“Cocaine Bear” is an unorthodox title that one would expect to see under a “Late night Comedies” tab. But no one prepared for the mass marketing of another spontaneous flick like Sharknado.

“[Seeing the trailer] I couldn’t believe it was being made, [you] know,” Eric Justin Whirley said (12). “I heard about it before even the trailer dropped, but I just did not think it would actually be made into a movie … This has got to be a gag.”

“Cocaine Bear” is reminiscent of those 2000s B-rated sci-fi thrillers that pushed affordable CGI to its limits. But, the difference is the movie’s clear production quality. Everything is deliberate: the over-the-top blood squirts, young Adam Sandler-type comedy and the relatable yet exaggerated characters. 

“You need to watch it in the theaters,” Randee Lopez (12) said. “All the action that you see, like where the bear is obviously on cocaine and killing people [would lose its effect]. It’s just funnier if you see it in theater. I feel like if you were to watch it on your laptop, you wouldn’t get the same 

action.”

Watching this movie with 20 strangers  in the room surprisingly created a wholesome and light energy. With every surprise, we gasped together, and with every bit, we looked around and laughed. The movie did not take itself too seriously and that loosened the energy in a usually quiet and cold theater.

“There’s good comedy and bad comedy,” Lopez said. “People could argue that Cocaine Bear wasn’t funny at all but I have the sense of humor of a 10-year-old so I find anything funny. And Cocaine bear was one of those movies where I can laugh throughout the whole thing making jokes.” 

It takes a certain kind of person to watch. Someone who watches movies with perfection in mind will not like “Cocaine Bear,” obviously. Anyone looking for a simple good time will enjoy it though. Though, projects like this require a special of a person like director Elizabeth Banks, a long standing comic with roles in many Seth Rogan movies. She was able to flesh out Jimmy Warden’s writing with stars like O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Ice Cube’s son) and Alden Ehrenreich (young Han Solo). 

“I love [parody/gag] movies,” Whirley said. “I think the cast knew that they were in a very stupid movie … Critic wise, it’s not all there story wise but that’s not the point of the movie. Critics aren’t into those kinds of movies. They’re into deeper meanings and stuff and there’s just not that in [Cocaine Bear] though. The whole premise is what you get. Objectively, it’a six or seven [out of 10] but for enjoyment 10 out of 10.”