June 1975 saw the release of Jaws, the film that sky rocketed Steven Spielberg into directorial superstardom and launched a slew of imitators as animals of all types terrorized small communities as defiant individuals stood against the local corruption and greed to save lives and defeat the beasts.

Most of these movies are terrible, torturous to watch, and were taken by their creators far too seriously.

Cocaine Bear, directed by Elizabeth Banks, written, by Jimmy Warden, and produced by Lord and Miller, understood exactly what they needed to make. Little screentime is devoted to deep character study, traumatic backstory, or insane reasons for not ‘closing the beaches’ but rather movie’s 95-minute running time is focused on what was promised in the trailer; a rampaging, coke-fueled bear killing in gruesome and exaggerated manner an eclectic mix of victims.

 There is a bit of character development and backstory, just enough to hang a little flesh on the people but no more than that. Some things are left unexplained, such as the reason the character in the opening decided or was forced to dump the cocaine from the plane. The audience doesn’t need to know. We all came to see the bear, high as the sky, and on a rampage. Once you’ve given us the narcotics from the sky, we have no further need for exposition. This is the brilliance of Cocaine Bear. Just enough to set characters and events in motion then let it play out in all its farcical and gory fun.

And this is a gory film. Mauled to death by a bear in reality would be a bloody affair but Banks walked the line with the violence and blood just cartoonish enough that it provokes excitement rather than horror.

Cocaine Bear is a movie to watch in a crowded theater or with a noisy room with friends, not alone and contemplative. Go see it.