Might Taffin’s Title Be Toppled…?

The fur is about to fly…

ith the trailer released today, there’s every chance that Cocaine Bear might just be the funniest film to come out of Wicklow.

Which, given that the mighty Taffin is out there in the world, would be some achievement.

Of course, Pierce Brosnan and his crew hadn’t intended for their 1988 thriller to be a comedy cult classic, but that’s what you get when you try to mix Bond with Glenroe.

With Cocaine Bear, director Elizabeth Banks and her cast – which includes Keri Russell and, in one of his last performances, Ray Liotta – have every intention of making you laugh. Even if, bizarrely, their Wicklow-shot film is based on a true story.

The year was 1985, the place, Kentucky, and a convicted drug smuggler dies whilst parachuting from a plane – his rapid descent and timely demise not helped by a heavy load of drugs. And that’s how a rather large American black bear – now stuffed and on display in a Kentucky museum – happened to find a duffel bag of cocaine. And thought it might just be yummy.

That’s when the bear’s roaring rampage of tripping balls across a small Georgia town began.

Banks & friend. Pic: Tyler Curtis/ABImages

Shot between August 17th and October 20th this year here in Hollywood’s favourite Irish county, Banks has quite a lot riding on Cocaine Bear. Given that her last outing as a director was 2019’s much-derided Charlie’s Angels remake.

Due to hit our screens on February 24th, if the reaction to the trailer is anything to go by, this might just be one of 2023’s biggest hits.

Then again, everyone felt the same about Snakes On A Plane, and that plummeted faster than, well, a plane full of snakes.