Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Marvel's Spider-Man Secret Lair promotional image

    Get a Look At the Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man Superdrop

    09/08/2025
    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions gameplay still

    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions Is All About Adventure (with Friends)

    09/08/2025
    Chord in Persona 5 The Phantom X

    Now Is The Perfect Time To Jump Back In ‘Persona 5: The Phantom X’

    09/05/2025
    Cosmic Spider-Man card details

    [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

    09/02/2025
    Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

    EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

    09/01/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ‘Smoking Causes Coughing’ Is What Cinema Is All About

REVIEW: ‘Smoking Causes Coughing’ Is What Cinema Is All About

Cidnya SilvaBy Cidnya Silva03/24/20234 Mins Read
Smoking Causes Coughing - But Why Tho
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Smoking Causes Coughing - But Why Tho

Smoking Causes Coughing is a film by French director Quentin Dupieux. Famous for his 2010 movie Rubber about a killer rubber tire, one can expect an outlandish premise, camp, and the unexpected. What I’ve found in Smoking Causes Coughing is a splendid exploration of teamwork, human desire, and a fun take on superheroes. At only 80 minutes long, Dupieux has created a film that deserves your attention and needs to be watched with a group of your closest friends.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

This film is formatted as an anthology, with very distinct scenes that loosely tie the whole film together. Viewers are immediately thrust into the world of camp and kitsch the moment we lay eyes on the main characters. They’re called the Tobacco Force, dressed in bright blue, white, and yellow latex suits that feel like a combination of Power Rangers and Kamen Rider suits. They stop evil by giving their enemies super cancer and make some of the goofiest, rubber monster designs I’ve seen blow up in a feat of exceptionally fake blood. Tonally, this setup suggests audiences are in for a comedy treat but it strikes a perfect balance across multiple genres.

What drives this film’s core is the stellar performances of every member of the Tobacco Force. They are a superhero team that has lost their touch per their rat boss. No, really, their boss is an anthropomorphic rat with green goo dripping out of its mouth (and one of the members of the Tobacco Force is in love with him). Chief Didier, voiced by Alain Chabat, tells his team to take some time off from saving the world, slow down, and reconnect as people and as a team. Benzène, played by Gilles Lellouche, rallies the rest of the Tobacco Force and they head over to secluded camping grounds. With names all referencing the ingredients found in cigarettes, Méthanol (Vincent Lacoste), Nicotine (Anaïs Demoustier), Mercure (Jean-Pascal Zadi), and Ammoniaque  (Oulaya Amamra) play off of each other like old friends.

Their cadence towards one another, whether they are exchanging scary stories or trying to convince someone not to make poor life decisions, feels as if they’ve known each other forever. They feel like a family on screen and it grounds this otherwise fantastical movie. Demoustier’s nuanced portrayal of Nicotine’s relationship with Captain Didier comes off as perplexing but also understandable and believable in the world Dupieux has created. There are so many scenes that rely on all of them to express either familial annoyance, love, and care and they execute it perfectly.

One of Dupieux’s greatest strengths in Smoking Causes Coughing is the balance between the high and low-brow execution of social commentary. There is sick irony in superheroes being praised for how devastating their kills are. It is a mortifying, moral dilemma. However, I laughed so hard at these action scenes with how over-the-top it was. As the story unfolds, this film blends horror, sci-fi, and character drama. My favorite vignette was about a helmet that a woman puts on that makes her feel intelligent and murderous.

Philosophically, Dupieux is asking us to engage in ideas such as how humans slowly kill themselves with nicotine, that being intelligent carries its own burden, and that sometimes you really do need to get better are getting along with others. this film is only effective because Dupieux isn’t telling us these things outright, but is using camp as a medium to wink at these bigger ideas. Some may find this cumbersome, feeling as if it feels pointless and half-baked to explore these ideas in such a silly way. However, Dupieux makes it clear he is making an attempt to blend slower cinema with the absurd, making the watching experience so enjoyable to think about.

Objectively, I know Smoking Causes Coughing will not be everyone’s preferred type of film. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. Managing to balance camp and social commentary, this movie is much more than just a weird movie with buckets of blood, rubber monsters, and a talking rat. With such a short run time, I was thinking about how the interpersonal relationships of teammates function, how love looks and feels different for each person, and how sometimes you need to slow life down to appreciate it in full. Dupieux has shocked me with how well-crafted and executed Smoking Causes Coughing is and I’m glad audiences will get to experience something so truly extraordinary and refreshing.

Smoking Causes Coughing will be released in select movie theatres in the USA and on digital March 31st.

Smoking Causes Coughing
  • 9/10
    Rating - 9/10
9/10

TL;DR

Dupieux has shocked me with how well-crafted and executed Smoking Causes Coughing is and I’m glad audiences will get to experience something so truly extraordinary and refreshing.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleSXSW 2023 Event Round-Up
Next Article REVIEW: ‘The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel – Northern War’ Mixes Goofy Characters With Political Intrigue
Cidnya Silva

An avid reader since childhood, Cidnya has always surrounded her free time with pop culture. From watching horror movies to playing JRPGs, Cidnya loves to consume and immerse herself in various fictional worlds. Some of their favorite things include Twin Peaks, Batman, Kingdom Hearts, Coffee, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Related Posts

The Long Walk (2025) film review promotional image
9.5

REVIEW: ‘The Long Walk’ Is The Most Heartfelt And Heartbreaking Stephen King Adaptation

09/11/2025
Natasha O’Keeffe in Whitetail
6.5

TIFF 2025: ‘Whitetail’ Is An Intimate View Of A Woman Stuck In Time

09/10/2025
Love Brooklyn
6.0

REVIEW: ‘Love, Brooklyn’ Rests on Pretty

09/10/2025
Park Jeong-min in The Ugly
7.0

TIFF 2025: ‘The Ugly’ Is A Harsh Exercise In Self-Reflection

09/09/2025
No Other Choice
9.0

TIFF 2025: ‘No Other Choice’ Delivers a Bleak Vision of Capitalism

09/09/2025
Molly Lewis in Whistle
8.0

TIFF 2025: ‘Whistle’ Is A Breath Of Fresh Air

09/07/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
The Long Walk (2025) film review promotional image
9.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘The Long Walk’ Is The Most Heartfelt And Heartbreaking Stephen King Adaptation

By Kate Sánchez09/11/2025Updated:09/11/2025

The Long Walk is a brutal watch. Equally heartfelt and heartbreaking, it’s one of the best adaptations of Stephen King’s work.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

EA Sports FC Icons Match promotional image from Nexon News

2025 Icons Match Returns With Football Legends Bridging The Pitch And Video Games

By Kate Sánchez09/03/2025Updated:09/03/2025

NEXON has announced the return of the ‘2025 Icons Match,’ a live event that brings a full roster of legendary players to the pitch.

Gojo Jujutsu Kaisen - But Why Tho (2) Features

Everything To Know About Satoru Gojo

By Kate Sánchez09/07/2023Updated:02/16/2025

Satoru Gojo is the heart of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 — now, heading into Cour 2, here is everything you need to know about the character.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here