Smoking Causes Coughing

Name: Smoking Causes Coughing
Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror, Comedy
Released: March 31, 2023
Duration: 80 min
Rating: 74
Cast: Ad, Alain Chabat, Anaïs Demoustier, Benoît Poelvoorde, Blanche Gardin

2023

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 7 Ratings

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3.9

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3.9	Your Score
3.9	User Score Generally unfavorable reviews based on 7 Ratings

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Smoking Causes Coughing (US Trailer 1)

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Movie Details & Credits

Magnet Releasing | Release Date: March 31, 2023 | Not Rated

Starring: Ad, Alain Chabat, Anaïs Demoustier, Benoît Poelvoorde, Blanche Gardin, David Marsais, Doria Tillier, Gilles Lellouche, Grégoire Ludig, Jean-Pascal Zadi, Julia Faure, Olivier Afonso, Oulaya Amamra, Tanguy Mercier, Vincent Lacoste

Summary: After a devastating battle against a diabolical turtle, a team of five avengers – known as the Tobacco Force - is sent on a mandatory retreat to strengthen their decaying group cohesion. Their sojourn goes wonderfully well until Lézardin, Emperor of Evil, decides to annihilate planet Earth.

Director: Quentin Dupieux

Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Horror, Comedy

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 80 min

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Critic Reviews

Josh Kupecki

Mar 29, 2023

The cast is uniformly excellent and delivers enthusiastic performances, even the ones played by puppets, and the pacing is lively and not at all boring. Read full review

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Jul 5, 2023

The cumulative effect is very pleasurable. The film has got some Python, Douglas Adams, Charlie Kaufman and also John Waters and Ed Wood Jr in it; it’s also possible that Dupieux has seen Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in Stanley Donen’s Bedazzled. Read full review

The Telegraph Robbie Collin

Jul 7, 2023

It’s all so giddily bizarre, the film deserves a health warning of its own: will induce (entirely pleasurable) lightheadedness and shortness of breath. Read full review

The Film Stage Leonardo Goi

Feb 23, 2023

If Smoking may feel like an amalgam of leftover ideas, it finds a tenuous through line in the contagious love Dupieux imbues in the very act—and art—of bringing those fables to life. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Simon Abrams

Mar 31, 2023

Smoking Causes Coughing works because Dupieux’s already been here and done similar things before. This is just a superior collection of shaggy dog jokes. Read full review

David Fear

Apr 3, 2023

Smoking Causes Coughing may or may not be designed as a straight parody of Power Rangers-style adventures and the sugar highs of such kid-friendly sci-fi/superhero entertainment. It most definitely is the sort of high-concept goof that, taken to such go-for-broke extremes, blurs the line between giggle-inducing absurdity and absolutely brilliant ridiculousness. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

Mar 23, 2023

The gimmick and the satiric target here are broader and the punches miss the mark far more often than they land. But if you’re blitzed enough… Read full review

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User Reviews

Brent_Marchant

May 4, 2023

One thing that movie fans can say unequivocally about French cinephiles is that they often possess a love of absurdist humor, both in the films they watch and in the pictures their countrymen make. That’s been verified once again in writer-director Quentin Dupieux’s latest, a wacky, wiggedOne thing that movie fans can say unequivocally about French cinephiles is that they often possess a love of absurdist humor, both in the films they watch and in the pictures their countrymen make. That’s been verified once again in writer-director Quentin Dupieux’s latest, a wacky, wigged out sci-fi/fantasy comedy that’s truly one of a kind. The film follows the campy exploits of the Tobacco Force, a Power Ranger-like troupe of superheroes who take on cheesy-looking monsters and villains with their martial arts skills, as well as their ability to emit toxic chemicals (like nicotine) in ample quantities to quickly vanquish their foes. However, in the wake of their latest successful mission, their commander (a randy lookalike cousin of TV’s lovable alien Alf) orders them to go on retreat to work on their team building skills to compensate for a recent tendency toward too much individualism. And, once there, they work on their bonding by spending much of their time telling stories – truly bizarre ones – that have nothing to do with them or their mission. In turn, these assorted vignettes essentially make up the bulk of the film. Viewers (myself included) might wonder why the picture is constructed in such a way, given that it plays more like a collection of bits loosely strung together by a thin central narrative. But that didn’t stop me from laughing, though – and quite a lot at that. From the standpoint of a movie that has a solid, well-crafted story, “Smoking Causes Coughing” fails miserably. But, as one that tickles the funny bone, the picture hits a string of home runs. Yes, it’s silly and nonsensical, and it’s far from epic filmmaking, However, as something that evokes huge chuckles for their own sake, this one is hard to beat. So, as long as you don’t go in expecting auteur-grade cinema, you’ll be fine if you accept this one just for what it is – a vehicle for making us laugh at a time when we can really use it most.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

SayreTX

Jul 30, 2023

I almost gave this a negative rating, but it did have some originality. It is a French, farcical mashup between a Wes Anderson movie and gross-out humor. At its core is a parody of the Power Rangers, but even more nonsensical and nasty, with no real plot. Not too sure what to make of it.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

arrivist

Jul 9, 2023

NOT FUNNY in the slightest. No idea who this film would appeal to. Psychopaths who find torture and mutilation amusing?

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TVJerry

Apr 2, 2023

This film informs a kid up front that smoking is bad, but the team of avengers that make up The Tobacco Force harness the “negative energy” of tobacco to fight evil. If this sounds silly, hold on! French director Quentin Dupieux is kind of a cross between Charlie Kaufmann and Luis BuñuelThis film informs a kid up front that smoking is bad, but the team of avengers that make up The Tobacco Force harness the “negative energy” of tobacco to fight evil. If this sounds silly, hold on! French director Quentin Dupieux is kind of a cross between Charlie Kaufmann and Luis Buñuel with an approach that's bizarre surreal absurdity. The superheroes, who look like cheap versions of Power Rangers, defeat one rubber monster a la Godzilla before being sent to a camp, where they sit around a fire and tell stories. Yep, there are several little shorts that pop in, as told my members of the group, a random girl and a barracuda, yes, you read that right. Then there's their boss, who's a giant rodent with green drool. If you're reading this going wha???, that's how I felt watching this. People who like weird, virtually meaningless and low budget failed camp might find this a unique curiosity, but it's basically a peculiar French mess. NOTE: Stay thru the credits for one final disappointment.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

NolanLundgaard

May 16, 2023

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Boy am I frustrated. Smoking Causes Coughing started out decent enough (with pretty much all the content in the trailer), but things went downhill fairly fast and then fell off a cliff. There is no plot. Most of the time in the film is spent telling side stories that have nothing to do with the main story, making the whole thing feel extremely unfocused. A big portion of the film relies on gross-out humor that I have a hard time thinking of anyone that would enjoy. The main villain is barely introduced and (SPOILERS AHEAD) killed off without any good reason. The "heroes" do nothing except defeat a creature at the beginning that any group of five could take out. I'm trying to think of anything redeeming about this film and honestly, I really can't (other than a couple chuckles here and there, hence the extra half star).

Bottom line: unfocused, terrible pacing, no character development, some of it barely makes any sense, and I want my 80 minutes back. Seriously. If you've seen the trailer, you've seen the whole movie. Very disappointed.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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