Smoking Causes Coughing
| Smoking Causes Coughing | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| French | Fumer fait tousser |
| Directed by | Quentin Dupieux |
| Written by | Quentin Dupieux |
| Produced by | Hugo Sélignac |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Quentin Dupieux |
| Edited by | Quentin Dupieux |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | Gaumont |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 80 minutes[1] |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Box office | $1.1 million[2] |
Smoking Causes Coughing (French: Fumer fait tousser) is a 2022 French comedy anthology film written, shot, edited and directed by Quentin Dupieux. It stars an ensemble cast, led by Gilles Lellouche, Vincent Lacoste, Anaïs Demoustier, Jean-Pascal Zadi and Oulaya Amamra, featuring David Marsais, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Grégoire Ludig, Doria Tillier, Jérôme Niel, Blanche Gardin, Alain Chabat and Benoît Poelvoorde. The film follows the adventures of a team of five superheroes (Lellouche, Lacoste, Demoustier, Zadi and Amamra) who went on compulsory retreat in order to strengthen cohesion within their group until an enemy named Lézardin (Poelvoorde) interrupts this retreat by deciding to destroy the planet Earth.
Smoking Causes Coughing had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2022 to the non-competitive Midnight Screening section. It was released in France on 30 November 2022 by Gaumont. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Dupieux's writing and direction, cast performances and humor. Several French critics cited Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Choudenshi Bioman, Tales from the Crypt, Power Rangers and Les Nuls as inspirations for the film.[3][4][5]
Premise[edit]
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.
Cast[edit]
- Gilles Lellouche as Benzène, a member of Tobacco Force
- Vincent Lacoste as Methanol, a member of Tobacco Force
- Anaïs Demoustier as Nicotine, a member of Tobacco Force
- Jean-Pascal Zadi as Mercure, a member of Tobacco Force
- Oulaya Amamra as Ammoniaque, a member of Tobacco Force
- David Marsais
- Adèle Exarchopoulos as Céline
- Grégoire Ludig as Christophe
- Doria Tillier as Agathe
- Jérôme Niel as Bruno
- Blanche Gardin as Tony
- Alain Chabat as the voice and puppeteer of Chief Didier, a rat who is the chief of Tobacco Force
- Benoît Poelvoorde as Lézardin, an Emperor of Evil
- Raphaël Quenard as Max
- Anthony Sonigo as Michaël
- Julia Faure
- Jules Dhios Francisco as Lézardou
Release[edit]
Smoking Causes Coughing premiered at the midnight section of the Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2022.[6][7] It was released theatrically in France on November 30, 2022.[8]
Reception[edit]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 54 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Quentin Dupieux still isn't for everyone -- but if you're on his loopy wavelength, Smoking Causes Coughing causes laughter."[9] Metacritic assigned a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10] The French cinema site AlloCiné gave the film a rating of 3.3/5 stars based on 34 reviews.[11]
Valerie Complex of Deadline Hollywood wrote that "The director's stories know how to take extreme violence and turn it into sarcasm and comedy, often using inanimate objects to reflect humanity's shortcomings."[12] Guy Lodge of Variety wrote that "In this amiably trollish throwaway, Dupieux invites his characters and audience alike to chill out and take things as they come, preferably with a smoke in hand."[13] Martin Kudlac of Screen Anarchy wrote that Dupieux "approaches the rabbit hole of meta-fictional narration with a Lewis Carroll verve."[14] Tim Grierson of Screen Daily wrote that "It's all fairly obvious, but also pretty consistently funny."[15]
References[edit]
- ^ "Fumer fait tousser". AlloCiné. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ "Smoking Causes Coughing (2022)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ Cios, Arthur (2 June 2022). "Critique : Quentin Dupieux revient en grande forme avec Fumer fait tousser". Konbini (in French). Retrieved 3 October 2022.
- ^ Cros, Renan (22 May 2022). "Cannes 2022 : FUMER FAIT TOUSSER / Critique". CinemaTeaser (in French). Retrieved 3 October 2022.
- ^ Picard, Sylvestre (22 May 2022). "Cannes 2022 : Fumer fait tousser, objectif nul [critique]". Premiere (in French). Retrieved 3 October 2022.
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa; Lang, Brent (22 June 2022). "Magnolia Buys Quentin Dupieux's Cannes Film 'Smoking Causes Coughing' From Gaumont (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ^ Hazelton, John (23 June 2022). "'Smoking Causes Coughing' to Magnolia for North America". Screen Daily. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ^ "Smoking Causes Coughing". Unifrance. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ "Smoking Causes Coughing". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ^ "Smoking Causes Coughing". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
- ^ "Critiques Presse pour le film Fumer fait tousser". AlloCiné (in French). AlloCiné. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
- ^ Complex, Valerie (22 May 2022). "Cannes Review: Quentin Dupieux's 'Smoking Causes Coughing'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ^ Lodge, Guy (17 June 2022). "'Smoking Causes Coughing' Review: Quentin Dupieux's Very Silly, Very Spacy Superhero Trifle". Variety. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ^ Kudlac, Martin (18 July 2022). "Karlovy Vary 2022 Review: Quentin Dupieux Causes Chortles and Puzzlement in a Hilarious Retro Pop-Surrealist Avenger Horror Anthology SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ^ Grierson, Tim (23 May 2022). "'Smoking Causes Coughing': Cannes Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
