When is a true story not a true story? When it’s “Cocaine Bear,” now playing in theaters courtesy of Universal Pictures. Directed by Elizabeth Banks and penned by Jimmy Warden, the not-quite-true story concerns a black bear minding her own business who stumbles upon cocaine dropped from a drug-smuggling plane. The bear gets high on the supply and eventually threatens to turn a dozen or so small-towners into lunch meat.
“Cocaine Bear” is very loosely based on a true-life crime story that occurred in the forests of America in 1985. A 175-pound American black bear was found dead in northern Georgia having overdosed on cocaine.