Smoking Causes Coughing

From Rubber to Deerskin, Quentin Dupieux films have historically been short, clocking in around 80 minutes — just enough time for the writer/director to explore the bizarre concept at hand without overstaying its welcome.

That tradition holds true with his latest feature, Smoking Causes Coughing, but here the central conceit isn’t rich enough to sustain even that brief window, turning the work into a quasi-anthology film whose strengths and weaknesses lie with its randomness.

Resembling the Power Rangers in their costumes and villains they attract (hello, giant turtle!), but peddling a goofy, oppressive anti-drug message straight out of the Reagan era, the Tobacco Force exists in an odd state between helpful and intrusive.

Their boss, Chef Didier — a rat puppet that hilariously drools mysterious green goop — likewise senses something is off and sends Benzene (Gilles Lellouche), Nicotine (Anaïs Demoustier), Methanol (Vincent Lacoste), Mercury (Jean-Pascal Zadi), and Ammonia (Oulaya Amamra) to a rural retreat in hopes of reinvigorating their camaraderie, which they famously need to be a successful team.

While at the vacation spot, it’s reasonable to expect that something — anything! — relevant to the plot might occur, but instead the squad merely tell each other stories meant to be scary but are just as silly and absurd as the central narrative.

From a twist on the home invasion tale, starring Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue is the Warmest Color), to a tale of a grisly work accident, told by a talking barracuda while it’s being grilled alive (!!!), these campfire tales don’t necessarily detract from the central narrative, but suggest the superhero basis doesn't have enough firepower to warrant a feature length film.

Instead, the the Tobacco Force’s adventures are ultimately just one chapter in this zany anthology film, one that’s almost random to a fault, yet also just random enough to work — but barely.

Grade: B-minus. Not rated, but with adult content, language, and violence. Now playing at Grail Moviehouse

(Photo: Magnolia Pictures)