Movie review
February 22, 2023 · 95 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Cocaine Bear is a 2023 black comedy horror film loosely based on the real 1985 incident of a Georgia black bear that ingested cocaine dropped by a smuggler. An oddball mix of cops, drug dealers, a worried mother, park rangers, and teens cross paths with the rampaging, cocaine-addicted bear and her cubs in the woods. The story delivers gory, absurd humor and chaotic survival antics with no audience-visible woke themes, identity politics, activist messaging, or social-justice framing in its plot, dialogue, or marketing.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Cocaine Bear.
Woke representation / casting
Ensemble fits the 1980s Georgia drug-world and forest setting with a natural mix of characters; no visible DEI emphasis, quotas, identity swaps, or mismatches with story logic or period.
Woke political dialogue
No activist speeches, modern political debates, or ideological messaging; all dialogue supports comedy, drug chaos, and survival plot.
Identity-driven story themes
Narrative is pure absurd drug-bear rampage and human survival; zero focus on race, gender, sexuality, or identity-based arcs or conflicts.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Light comedic jabs at drug smuggling and park bureaucracy appear as silly spectacle, not serious modern activist critique of capitalism, patriarchy, or institutions.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant; original story loosely inspired by one real 1985 bear incident with no ideological reinterpretation.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No complaints accused the film of pushing woke, DEI, or identity politics; limited pushback came from the left over drug depictions instead.
Creator track record context
Core team stays entertainment-focused with minimal activist patterns. Elizabeth Banks adds a higher liberal public profile and past projects with some feminist leanings, but this film carries none of that forward.
Production
