When we were setting up Bear World Magazine, Bear City was two years old and Bear City 2 was just about to hit our screens! Now 7 years since the first movie, the team is back together in wooded bliss (see what I did there?)!

Last Saturday, as part of the New Fest Film Festival, Bear City 3 came home to New York City for a glittering gala, with support from the SVA Theatre, PFLAG, Josh Wines and Blanc de Bleu.

Juan Boria serving the bear World Polar Bear Cocktail with Blanc De Blue Blue Sparkling Wine

This edition in the franchise sees all your favorite characters back together with a few exceptions. But this time we see them all gather in the woods at one of our favorite camp grounds! Brent, Fred, Roger, Tyler, Michael and Simon all are back, and we even see “Mama” Rose (Kathy Najimy) pop up at the top and tail of the movie.

The cast seem to have fallen back into the characters with ease, Fred (Brian Keane) and Brent are wonderfully real and feel like every couple I know in some way, and the comedy skills of Brent (Stephen Guarino) are on point as ever. Roger (Gerald McCullouch) and Tyler (Joe Conti) spar a little bit and Simon (Alex Di Dio) finds love and had me chuckling throughout the movie. Some new characters were introduced too, Michael (Greg Gunter) finds a new love in Dalton (Garikayi Mutambirwa) but he comes with a little baggage in his daughter Emma (Lauryn Alisa McClain). The three of them end up on a family trip to the woods, and a little bear adventure ensues!

I thought the bigger role for Tyler’s love interest the southern fireman, Jay (Tim Hooper, who actually used to be a Fire Chief woof!) was good to see. Fred’s sister Susan (Racheal Drummond) and Fred’s editing partner Max (Matthew Montelongo) helped keep the story fresh, and the setting at the Woods Camp Ground and the many many wonderful beary extras made it feel like every bear weekend we have all been too!

There’s drama, there’s tears and there are twinks too! Together with corny comedy montages (that actually really worked) I felt this final version of the trilogy was as Goldilocks famously said “just right”!

Check out a few images from the premiere night below (by Catalin Stelian-Shanks) and to see the movie (as well as Bear City 1 and 2) head over to:

www.bearcity.com

Producers and cast

Stephen Guarino interviewed by Tym Moss for Bear World TV

Movie goers lining up for the Premiere

Joe Amorin, Stephen Guarino, Jay Azzato, Gerald McCullouch, Brian Keen & Matthew Montelongo