If you aren’t familiar with the great state of Haryana’s vibrant film industry then you might not have heard about Dear vs. Bear (pronounced dear vs. beer). And that’s a pity, because as far as films you have to watch with your bros when you’re totally wasted go, this is right up there with Borat, Euro Trip and Scary Movie 3.
When it comes to casually watching movies with your buddies, generally speaking, the better movie, the less fun it is to watch. I mean Citizen Kane is a masterpiece, but watching it 3 am with a bunch of drunk people would be an absolute nightmare, on the other hand Transformers is terrible anywhere, except when the buffoons you know and love and watching it with you. The setting matters, and with the right settings, i.e. a few good friends and some beers, Dear vs. Bear, which is objectively and subjectively terrible can give you one of the most amazing cinematic experiences of your life.
I’ve never been a fan of self righteous, elitist film critics who tear movies apart for their terrible scripts, acting, editing and plot holes. Movies are supposed to be entertaining, and there’s only so many Oscar winning masterpieces about gay cowboys eating pudding I can stomach before I think ‘screw this crap I wanna watch a guy named Uttar Kumar fight off a CGI man-eating bear with a football’. And there’s where Dear vs. Bear comes in. It’s not pretentious, it doesn’t pretend to be cool, or funny, or scary, or logical like its Bollywood counterparts, it’s just a simple tale of a group of friends stranded in a jungle in Haryana and being stalked by a crazy bear; which I’m sure happens all time.
If you’re new to this sort of thing, you need to know that cheesy movies like this are never about the actual movie, they’re about bonding with your buddies over how much the movie sucks because y’all are too emotionally immature to forge interpersonal relationships that go beyond snide remarks and childish banter. And in that regard, Dear vs. Bear does exactly what it’s supposed to do, it brings friends together.
So the next time you’re planning a drunken poker night at your place, which ends prematurely when you run out of money or realise you don’t actually know how to play poker; or the next time you throw a house party then realise you don’t know any women, just a bunch of dudes, be sure to keep a copy of Dear vs. Bear nearby. I can’t guarantee that you’ll like the film, but I can assure you that you’ll have a great time.
In case my words haven’t convinced you, here’s the trailer;
