“Cocaine Bear” spends so much time confused about which tone to take on that it lacks any real direction. This film had every chance to provide an over-the-top thrill ride that mimics the aforementioned effects of cocaine for viewers. Instead, it’s an hour and a half of back-and-forth scenes that leave the audience confused on whether to laugh or cry.

The film adopts the narrative premise of disaster movies and frames it in a realistic, though highly satirical, scope. The film sets up characters that play into the archetypes of those found in disaster films, like the heroic scientists, the sacrificial savior and the president who is willing to take action. However, the film deconstructs these archetypes to highlight the futility in such efforts if humanity were to ever confront a global threat that could cause extinction. It is easy to discount “Don’t Look Up” as ‘2020: The Movie,’ but there is a human story beneath the over-the-top satire. If the film’s premise and themes are too obvious, it is still worth watching for the performances alone.