‘Smoking Causes Coughing’ Review – An Antidote To Superhero Fatigue

Directed By: Quentin Dupieux

Starring: Gilles Lellouche, Anaïs Demoustier, Vincent Lacoste, Jean-Pascal Zadi, Oulaya Amamra

Plot Summary: A wildly inventive new comedy from Quentin Dupieux (MANDIBLES, RUBBER), SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING follows the misadventures of a team of five superheroes known as the Tobacco Force — Benzene (Gilles Lellouche), Nicotine (Anaïs Demoustier), Methanol (Vincent Lacoste), Mercury (Jean-Pascal Zadi), and Ammonia (Oulaya Amamra). After a devastating battle against a diabolical giant turtle, the Tobacco Force is sent on a mandatory week-long retreat to strengthen their decaying group cohesion. Their sojourn goes wonderfully well until Lézardin, Emperor of Evil, decides to annihilate planet Earth.

It’s been quite a wild journey discovering the films of Quentin Dupieux. Even if the name isn’t familiar, you no doubt have heard about his opus, Rubber, about a killer tire. This movie gained infamy for its sheer absurdity, and as of writing, seems to be his best-known work. One would be hard pressed to name another working director who you literally never know what to expect from their work. In a cinematic world driven mostly by safe IP projects, it’s no small feat to feel this thrill of the unknown. For better or worse, superhero movies are not going anywhere both on the big and small screen. Yet, for those suffering from superhero fatigue, Smoking Causes Coughing is the breath of fresh air for which you have been searching.

Reviewing any Dupieux film is quite a challenge. It is not that there is nothing of substance to talk about, more so that his works employ a narrative that is more surreal, at times bordering on Dadaism, and not something that is easily summed up or distilled. Starting out as a parody tokusatsu genre (which translates to special effects, and the most notable example is Power Rangers), we see the anti-smoking team, which uses the combined powers of cigarettes, naturally. Any other filmmaker would have centered the entire film around these bombastic live-action anime fights. However, in a stroke of genius, the head of the team, a giant puppet rat, makes the superheroes go on a team-building retreat.

It’s this painfully mundane plot device that serves a dual purpose of subverting superhero tropes whilst also providing a razor-sharp satire. Further cementing this is the ultra-blood-soaked beginning, which is so wonderfully absurd. This aspect also functions to establish the tone, which is campy and outrageous with a splash of nihilism. The latter aspect comes into brilliant play at the finale which captures the film’s thesis rather well. Some of the best moments of the film are the interactions between the heroes, proving that they are just as petty and bitter as the rest of us.

As for actually summing up the film – after ditching the fighting goofy villains – this features some short stories presented by various team members, and, at one point, a talking barracuda. Basically, it is Dupieux doing an anthology, and even in terms of that genre he of course doesn’t play by the rules. The stories presented are just as weird and anti-narrative as you might expect. Hell, the story told by the barracuda doesn’t have an ending due to him being cooked by one of the team members.

Like most of Dupieux’s films, the world he crafts feels grungy and lived in thanks to his use of great production design and use of practical effects. The monsters in the film are foam rubber and harken back to its Japanese roots. You can also see some other influences pop up as well. For example, the distressed drooling rat puppet looks like it came right off the set of Peter Jackson’s Meet the Feebles, an element that will thrill any fans of that film. 

Smoking Causes Coughing delivers on what Dupieux does best, which is a bonkers deconstruction of both the superhero genre and the banality of life.

Smoking Causes Coughing will be available in select theaters and on VOD platforms on March 31, 2023 courtesy of Magnet Releasing. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxc6TyTdW50]