We all remember the story of the bear that accidentally came into contact with a large amount of cocaine that had fallen from an aeroplane – even though this took place in 1985, many of us tend to be aware of it, mostly due to the periodic reminders of this event that proves that reality is often stranger than fiction – the adage of “you can’t make this up” has never been more appropriate than in this story, and it only seemed inevitable that someone would put in the effort to expand on the story, as is often the case with any mildly interesting or off-the-wall story, since nothing is quite as satisfying at the words “based on a true story” being tacked onto the beginning of the most deranged series of moments imaginable. This responsibility fell onto Elizabeth Banks, who worked with screenwriter Jimmy Warden to make the appropriately titled Cocaine Bear, in which this outrageous real-life incident has been adapted to the cinematic form, in what is quite possibly the funniest film of the decade so far (which may be a hyperbolic statement, but absolutely nothing about this film lends itself to understatement, and it’s one the rare instances where exaggeration is not only acceptable, it’s actively encouraged), a purely deranged and undeniably hilarious depiction of a once in a lifetime scenario, which has been so brilliantly captured in the form of this film, which does take several liberties in telling the story (and thus obviously stretches the boundaries of plausibility in a deliberate and meaningful way), and emerges as one of the most unexpected delights of the last year in cinema, a black comedy in every sense of the word, and a film that carries itself with such a peculiar sense of complexity, it is impossible to not be beguiled by its unpredictable charms, even if it is a film that tends to be beyond ridiculous at every given opportunity, which is all part of its appeal.

If there is any lesson to be learned from a film like Cocaine Bear, it is to expect the unexpected – there isn’t a moment in this film where it felt like you could predict what was coming next (perhaps with the exception of the final few scenes, which existed mainly to tie up the loose ends more than anything else), and this sense of instability is all part of the immense appeal that drives the film and makes it so exciting. In no uncertain terms, this is a film driven by the desire to inspire the most off-the-wall, unadulterated chaos anyone has ever seen on screen, but within reason. Banks has proven herself to be a very solid director of genre films, with both Pitch Perfect 2 and Charlie’s Angels being very promising films that may not have been without flaws – but it feels like Cocaine Bear presented itself as even more of an opportunity for Banks to prove herself as an extraordinary filmmaker, since this is not the kind of film that could just be merely competent in terms of the direction – it needs a filmmaker motivated by the desire to produce something singularly insane and outrageous, but within the boundaries of something that does make sense and have some structure to it. As a result, Banks inherited the responsibility that entailed juggling both the chaos and intricacy that are inherent to this story, and actually managing to weave them together to create something beautifully strange and offbeat, but also deeply captivating. It’s an exceptional example of well-crafted, meaningful storytelling that never feels like it is striving too hard to be different, but instead being a work that consists of many layers, from which there is very little chance that we won’t find some degree of entertainment. There is a striking charm to Cocaine Bear that feels extremely earned, and it may be the exact work needed to fully prove Banks’ prowess as a filmmaker, much more than the bizarre sentiment that her previous works were only successful based on the triviality of having her at the helm, a concept that she single-handedly quashes in every moment of this delightfully odd, off-the-wall satirical masterwork.

However much as we may be inclined to rationalize this film and try and decode the aspects in which it is actually a profound piece of artistic expression, our efforts are essentially meaningless when we consider the fact that this was a film designed to be intentionally wacky, above absolutely everything else. No one involved in the construction of this story thought that they were doing something important, or even making a film that would be an immediate success, since there were inherent risks associated with this story that could have easily derailed it and turned it into something that was solely a spectacle long before it could be considered a solid film all on its own. Mercifully, Banks’ direction is strong enough to compensate for these more questionable aspects, which elevates this film far beyond a mildly amusing but paper-thin concept, and instead makes it something really special in its own way. There has been a lot of discourse in recent years about defining any work of art that is over-the-top and eccentric as “camp”, and while that is a discussion for another day (since it would be bizarre to bring Susan Sontag into a discussion on this film), the belief that anything vaguely outrageous has to earn this title is bizarre. However, Cocaine Bear achieves something very close, with the fact that it is intentionally strange and offbeat disqualifying it from the concept of camp, but still allowing it to bring that same level of entertainment value, just through very calculated means. The jokes are always fresh and unique, and it genuinely feels like there are some ideas contained in this film that no one has ever thought of previously, which only increases the value of this film and makes it far more compelling than a cursory glance would suggest.

The concept alone is enough to make Cocaine Bear entertaining, and essentially any vaguely competent actor would have been able to succeed in this film, since the roles are already preordained to be very entertaining, regardless of who was at the helm. We find this being true of some of the actors, but for the most part, this film uses its cast exceptionally well. It is littered with some of the most diverse and interesting actors of their generation, all of whom agree to go on this off-the-wall adventure with Banks and her cohorts, becoming her collaborators (some may even say co-conspirators) in her continued quest to tell a mesmerizing story that is both wickedly funny and deeply compelling. Choosing a standout is difficult – Keri Russell is a convincing protagonist, proving that she is one of our most charismatic stars (although that is not something that is in any way new information, since she’s always been an excellent actor), and Alden Ehrenreich and O’Shea Jackson Jr. are both equally capable. However, the true highlights of the film are those in slightly smaller roles – the late Ray Liotta delivers his final performance ever in this film, and what an extraordinary swan song to have, having this off-kilter work of pure artistic madness be your last work. Young actors Brooklyn Prince and Christian Convery are both hilarious, the latter being extraordinarily talented and likely to become a great actor should he maintain this level of skillfulness. However, there would not be a Cocaine Bear if it was not for Margo Martindale. There isn’t any reason to proclaim Martindale as some extraordinary actor, or one of our finest performers – we are all extremely aware of his exceptional body of work, and any self-respecting individual knows she is incredible. Yet, her work in this film is one of the most outrageously funny, bizarre and captivating performances of the past decade, just a perfectly-calibrated collision of bizarre ideas and deranged scenarios centring around this strange character that keeps us so invested and entertained, much more than we might have been otherwise. There wasn’t any reason for the cast of Cocaine Bear to be this good, but the impact their performances make can simply never be understated, all being part of the extraordinary charms that define this film.

We can never entirely predict how a film is going to age, and there are many examples of films that were positioned to be major moments in a particular genre having their reputation diminishing over time. However, when a film is as well-made as this one, and pandering to as universal an audience, it would take a major disaster for it not to be fondly remembered, and perhaps even age better as time goes on. There is nothing particularly revolutionary about this film – the concept is so mercifully simple, it almost feels like a studio executive chose two words at random and built a film around them. Yet, the realization that this film is based on a true story (or rather, it used a true story as the main framing device) is surprising but also extremely delightful. This is quite simply a film inspired by those audacious B-movies produced many decades ago, where the most eccentric concepts punctuated these films and made them so memorable, even when they were playing too much smaller audiences. It isn’t surprising that the same production studio that was behind this film was the same that essentially invented the concept of the B-movie, with Universal being a company known to take bold swings when they are necessary, since this is entirely the case with this film. Fresh, funny and always entertaining in a way that needs to be experienced to understand, Cocaine Bear is such a delight, and all the more reason high-concept storytelling should not be restricted to the independent arthouse, and even when producing something as simple as this, there is virtue in seeing exactly how far a particular concept can go before it falls apart – the only difference here is that Cocaine Bear knows where to stop, and considering this is one of the few times a sequel revisiting this world would be a good idea, it only proves that this is an unquestionably charming and captivating film, and one of the more effective recent comedies, going in search of something much deeper and emerging triumphant, even if this film’s view of heroism is radically different. It’s all part of a violent, exciting and thrilling adventure, which is truly one of the more successfully ambitious films of recent years, and the primary reason this film feels so fresh and exciting.