Elizabeth Banks settles into the director’s chair again and delivers a mostly entertaining comedy thriller, which is loosely based on a true story, Cocaine Bear. Featuring an all-star cast led by Keri Russell, the film swings from working brilliantly to just falling a little flat.

But damn if Banks doesn’t swing for the fences. There are some great moments, some solid use of both practical and visual effects, and most of the cast seem to be in on the joke and having a great time. Russell, plays Sari, a mother looking for her young daughter, Dee Dee (Brooklyn Prince) after the young girl skips school to head to the local national park in order to paint a waterfall.

Unfortunately, there is a black bear on the loose that has ingested a whole lot of cocaine that was thrown out of a plane making a drug run, which features a delightful appearance by Matthew Rhys. The bear is unstoppable and seems intent on attacking anyone who may get in the way of her and more coke.

Well, a number of people are in the park at the same time, and things are going to go very pear-shaped very quickly. From a pair of European tourists (Kristofer Hivju and Hannah Hoekstra), to a cop (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) hunting down a lead, to the son (Alden Ehrenreich) of a drug dealer (Ray Liotta) trying to recover the lost cocaine.

Banks is able to (mostly) balance the laughs and the gore, oftentimes combining them brilliantly. Some of the lines fall a little flat and definitely aren’t as funny as the film thought they should be, but they are quickly pushed aside, and the sheer ridiculousness of the film pulls you back in.

It’s bloody, it’s silly, and it’s fun to see such great actors embracing it. They are very much in on the joke and while there is no direct winking at the camera, there is a very real sense that everyone knows how insane this film is, but they want you to enjoy it as much as they appear to be.

Some of the computer-generated images of the bear are rather obvious, but Banks knows how to balance the CGI, with the practical, and knows when she has to show the bear, and knows when she can just imply she’s around.

I would argue this is Banks’ best directorial effort to date, and honestly, it makes me want to see her take on a full-out horror or horror-comedy. I think she would acquit herself wonderfully. It’s not going to be to everyone’s taste, but this one definitely entertained me. A fun little popcorn film.