Smoking Causes Coughing review: a cure for predictable superhero movies

Simply minutes into Quentin Dupieux’s Smoking Causes Coughing, it turns into apparent that one thing isn’t proper about its crew of fake Energy Rangers. The five-person superhero group, often called Tobacco Drive, dispatches a hulking rubber turtle monster by taking pictures it with a concentrated stream of cigarette smoke, giving the beast such an terrible case of most cancers that it explodes in an extended, lingering unfold of gore. Drenched within the kaiju’s greasy blood and guts, Tobacco Drive celebrates one other win. It appears like simply one other day on the workplace — on this case, an empty quarry, the best filming location for spandex-clad kung-fu antics and explosions.

The 5 members of Tobacco Drive, all named after parts of cigarette smoke — Benzene, Nicotine, Ammonia, Mercury, and Methanol — promptly report again to their boss, Chief Didier. He seems to be a ratlike puppet that appears like a cigarette left unchecked and burning right down to ash, and he’s always drooling inexperienced goo on himself. It’s all of a sudden dreadfully clear that Dupieux has dressed up an absurdist comedy within the costume of a tokusatsu superhero collection. Additional underscoring that absurdity: One Tobacco Drive member has a painfully unrequited crush on this womanizing, slobbering, red-eyed rat factor.

It solely will get weirder from there.

Picture: Magnet Releasing

Smoking Causes Coughing is masked as a send-up of superhero exhibits like Mighty Morphin Energy Rangers and Kamen Rider, with a monster-of-the-week dangerous man and a looming intergalactic risk. However the heroes of Tobacco Drive are tasked with an atypical mission: When Mercury experiences efficiency nervousness and might’t produce smoke on demand, Chief Didier mandates recuperation time for the entire crew. A forced-fun retreat, the Chief says, is important to deal with their floundering group cohesion prematurely of a possible catastrophic occasion.

Dupieux establishes splendidly weird and micro-scale world-building for his or her retreat. On arriving at their house away from house, an underground bunker, the crew members specific delight at seeing a lake, such an extremely uncommon factor on this world that they should touch upon it. They marvel at facilities like seawater showers, exhausting titanium beds, and a fridge that’s only a doorway to a totally stocked grocery retailer, staffed by a pleasant lady who’s able to convey the crew no matter they want. They sleep and go swimming of their full Tobacco Drive costumes.

What occurs subsequent, because the Tobacco Drive members grapple with private points and attempt to join by telling one another weird tales, is healthier left unspoiled. However Dupieux fills the fast 80-minute movie with bonkers swerves. It’s unattainable to foretell what is going to occur subsequent in Smoking Causes Coughing, as a result of Dupieux rejects superhero storytelling templates in favor of whiplash-inducing story selections.

The tales Dupieux tells via his characters are humorous, absurd, and violent. The author-director — greatest identified for his 2010 movie Rubber, a few possessed, murderous rubber automotive tire — delivers some stunning violence and gore, however with probably the most laid-back and calming course. One of many movie’s grisliest, most difficult-to-watch moments is delivered with such outstanding nonchalance that it makes the entire of Smoking Causes Coughing price watching.

Within the film’s manufacturing notes, Dupieux says his superhero film “by no means imposes any huge speeches, and there’s no ethical of the story,” claiming that it’s merely “an unabashed supply of inconsequential leisure.” That’s actually true — this can be a low-key hangout film with remarkably minimal stakes and no huge decision. (Stick round for the post-credits scene for a ultimate gag that simply underlines Dupieux’s dedication to not wrapping up a narrative.)

On the identical time, Smoking Causes Coughing’s lightness and amorality is troublesome to sq. with its themes of environmental collapse, air pollution, and societal disconnection. However perhaps all of these concepts are simply extra misdirection from Dupieux. Certain, his movie initially appears like a nostalgic superhero farce. Then it begins to really feel like a prank on the viewers. However that feels much less true the deeper you get into it.

At one level, Dupieux does flirt with a morality message, when Tobacco Drive chief Benzene tells a starry-eyed fan of the crew that smoking is an unhealthy behavior that may destroy his physique and gained’t make him look cool. However when confronted with imminent destruction, our heroes wind up nervously chain-smoking anyway, whereas reflecting on the absurdity and missed alternatives of their lives. If there’s one takeaway from Smoking Causes Coughing, it might be that: Life is brief and illogical, and it typically seems like one huge joke that’s only a beat away from a punchline.

Smoking Causes Coughing is now enjoying in restricted theatrical launch, and is obtainable for rental or buy on Amazon, Vudu, and different digital platforms.