Quentin Dupieux has never shied away from the strange. His film resume includes stories about a homicidal car tire, a friendship with a giant fly, and a murder mystery that defies logic. With Smoking Causes Coughing he has added a superhero movie to his filmography. The Tobacco Force are a group of heroes who are losing their team spirit. Their leader Chief Didier sends them on a retreat to find that spark. While there, they learn of a danger that threatens the entire world.
It seems like a straightforward movie about a formerly cohesive group of avengers rediscovering the importance of teamwork by banding together to defeat their toughest challenge yet. The opening even sees a Power Rangers-like battle in which the Tobacco Force defeats a giant monster named Tortusse. The fight has a way bloodier ending, but everything from the costumes to the enemy being a man in a rubber suit will look familiar.
Once a talking rat (think Splinter, but with green goo constantly dripping from his mouth) enters the picture, Smoking Causes Coughing takes on a different tone. Dupieux leans into the absurd as the film suddenly turns into an anthology. It is a seamless transition beginning when the team decide to tell scary stories around a campfire. Even this does not last long, ending after a little girl shows up and tells one that is too depressing for everyone. Thankfully, a talking barracuda is able to get things back on track the next day.
If it sounds like it does not make any sense, that is because it doesn’t. Still, the plot is able to seamlessly move from segment to segment without ever losing the audience. What should be jarring is instead funny. Yes, it is still nonsensical, but that does not take away from how entertaining it all is. Even when the jokes are obvious, there is a creativity at work that is not seen enough in cinema today.
For all the silliness, there are some serious themes at play. Each member of the Tobacco Force is named after a cancer causing chemical and a story about a thinking helmet sees a woman reevaluate the life she has chosen. Even the talkative fish has a possible origin story based on a real life problem. In a great bit of writing, Dupieux is able to take on these ideas without ever ruining the tone of Smoking Causes Coughing.
Smoking Causes Coughing opens in theaters and comes to On Demand March 31
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