‘Smoking Causes Coughing’ or — Everett’s Influence?
I could feel myself furiously working to keep my expectations tempered during the opening ten minutes of Quentin Dupieux’s ‘Smoking Causes Coughing’ (2023) because I knew if the film sustained its initial energy, mayhem and craziness that I would be watching the greatest movie ever made, and I didn’t want to end up disappointed if it didn’t deliver. An over the top, comically gory mash-up of ‘Infra-man’ (1975), ‘Gamera’ (1965) and Peter Jackson’s early, gross-out puppet flick ‘Meet the Feebles’ (1989)? God, if this is what we’re in for then this is going to be a masterpiece!
Yet I knew such insanity couldn’t be sustained and was glad I kept my expectations in check because ‘Smoking Causes Coughing’ does, indeed, rein things in once it settles down although that doesn’t mean it still isn’t a highly enjoyable, daft and delightfully silly movie.
Once we’ve been introduced to the Tobacco Force, our main characters, their leader (an ugly talking rat who constantly salivates green goo) instructs his team to go on a week-long retreat in order to build group cohesion and gather their strength before battling their ultimate enemy — Lézardin, Emperor of Evil. And so, for the rest of the run time, we observe the Tobacco Force sitting round a camp fire telling each other a series of scary stories as they engage in rest and relaxation.
What this immediately does is destroy any dynamic forward narrative thrust so if you’re looking for a strong, focused plot you won’t find it here. In its place, however, what we get is a nicely handled anthology of increasingly bizarre tales so what ‘Smoking Causes Coughing’ might lack in dramatic momentum it more than makes up for in entertaining and hilarious variation.
If you want an idea of the humour contained within then a great example is the tale about a worker who gets his legs trapped in a wood-cutting machine, a sequence which I’m convinced was inspired by what I consider to be the greatest sketch from The Kenny Everett Television Show, a sketch so funny I still remember it clearly to this day over forty years later. Without giving too much away the sketch went something like this –
Kenny Everett plays The Great Escapo, an escape artist whose act consists of him being ground up in a cement mixer then poured into a mincing machine and minced after which he’s poured into a liquidiser and liquidised after which the liquid Escapo will be poured into a glass after which his glamourous assistant will drink him after which… he shall escape! As I said, in my opinion, it’s one of the funniest sketches ever shown on British television and the fact ‘Smoking Causes Coughing’ appeared to be referencing/homaging Everett’s work was an utter delight.
Elsewhere we’re treated to puppet sex (always a good thing in my opinion), talking animals, suicidal robots, galactic soup and impending planetary annihilation so there’s a lot going on in its tight 80 minutes.
The film isn’t perfect and its free-wheeling, scattershot approach might not be for everyone but its consistently funny, frequently inventive and creates that wonderful sensation of having the audience sitting there wondering what the hell they’re going to witness next.
The film’s budget must’ve been miniscule but this is, without a doubt, not only the best superhero movie of the last ten years but very possibly the only one genuinely worth watching. Cinema desperately needs more films like this now more than ever. Go see it.
