User Reviews

Disclaimers are popular these days so I'll start by admitting that I dislike Norman Lear's body of work. And I admire most of the things in his cross-hairs in this satire: middle America, the church, the military, capitalism, the family, etc.

Nevertheless, this film is hilarious.

Liberals of Lear's stamp are usually rotten at satire. They don't understand that a satirist has to understand and even have some sympathy for their targets (NOT empathy -- if you don't understand the distinction, look it up). Lear's work, especially that made for television, shows a tendency to hit his targets with a great big hammer to destroy any mindset he fears because he can't or won't bother to try to understand it.

This satire, about a town that pledges to give up smoking for thirty days, is remarkably subtle. I have not read the source novel for the story, so I can't say how its approach affected the final product.

The main reason this movie is watchable is a remarkable cast that includes some of my favorite performers.

Dick Van Dyke carries the movie as the preacher who sees his mission as getting jobs and prosperity for his run-down Iowa town by making his community attractive for business via good p.r. (back then even Lear knew jobs were created through providing a favorable climate for business, something forgotten in 2010). Van Dyke was not always the best judge of movie material, but he turns in a solid performance in his best movie since "Mary Poppins"

Some of the other actors would become notable after being plugged into some of Lear's television shows, but the old hands are the ones who make the show.

Tom Poston and Edward Everett Horton have too little to do, but they steal every scene they are in. Horton has no lines but, up in his 80s, his face is still wonderfully expressive. Poston is the rich dipsomaniac who has to leave Town because "the booze bone's connected to the smoke bone and the smoke bone's connected to the head bone -- and that's the word of the Lord!" Bob Newhart, as the man desperate to undermine the town's pledge, and Bernard Hughes, as the chain-smoking town doctor, are the highlights of the piece. Newhart shows a comic range beyond his later television persona, and the only character in the movie who comes close to overshadowing Newhart's is Hughes' doctor. Hughes wrings every drop of laughter from his portrait of a man suffering seriously from withdrawal.

And then there's Bob and Ray. These comedians, known primarily from radio, portray satires on important newsmen of that era. Anyone alive when there were only three networks will recognize Bob's "David Chetley" and "Hugh Upson" and Ray's "Walter Chronic" and "Paul Hardly" ["Good day!"]. Every moment Bob and/or Ray are/is on-screen is golden.

So, it's possible to make a good and funny satire without giving undue offense to one's targets. It's a lesson many so-called "funny men" (and women) of today ought to learn.

I saw this movie on HBO. It gives a dated look at smoking, which is interesting. It's interesting that even back in '71, big tobacco is the enemy. I'd be interested to see what they would do with this premise in a modern movie.

While it's cute in some areas (the rev. and the wife dealing with nicotine withdrawal by "engaging in the act of physical love" constantly), I left feeling a little let down. The ending seems rushed and I'm not really sure what the moral is. The town quits smoking, but then ends up in a greed-infested society. And in the end, they get a missile plant that causes more pollution than a town of smokers couldn't possibly compete with. So is this a movie that we should quit smoking? Cuz it seems that the town got only more problems when it did that.

But on the other hand, the scenes with the town coping with nicotine withdrawal are some of the most humorous I've seen in an old movie. My guess is that this movie opened the door on attacking smoking, but didn't have the gumption to take it all the way. It's interesting to note that big tobacco is already fingered in taking some of the blame in the smoking epidemic - I didn't realize that so early on they were already seen as a culprit.

I give this movie a 7 because for the majority of it, I enjoyed myself. I am surprised that I haven't heard more about it around, but I'm not surprised that it's not on DVD. I'd recommend it if you're in the mood for something cutesy, dated, and not too deep.

Norman Lear's satire is more fun than funny. Dick Van Dyke is a minister in small dying Eagle Rock, IA who rallies the townspeople to quit smoking for one month in order to win $25,000,000. The town goes crazy, eating everything in sight, bickering and even kicking dogs. Van Dyke is stoic rather than funny but it helps a lot that the town is populated by clowns likes of Vincent Gardenia, Jean Stapleton, Barnard Hughes, Graham Jarvis and Tom Poston (very funny as the town dipsomaniac). Pippa Scott is pretty fetching as Van Dyke's wife. Bob & Ray pop up from time to time as hilarious newscasters and Bob Newhart is the shifty tobacco company man who starts it all and then tries to stop the town from winning. Randy Newman's music score, his first, remains one of his best.

The idea for "Cold Turkey" was a good one, and it had a lot of potential. It could have been a first-rate satire, but instead we have a film that goes part way and then losses its steam. So, it comes off like a light-hearted soap opera.

The film has a few good laughs, but as another reviewer noted, it begins to wear thin. It's too long for the content. Had there been more meat with the potatoes, it could have become a full-scale satire. I'll grant that it starts in that direction, but most of the film is obvious and repetitious. Great satire sneaks up without warning and sometimes doesn't make much of a noise. It comes out in witty dialog or clever scenes that we viewers don't expect. But this plot, with all the buildup and TV coverage as part of the story leaves little room for anything surprising. So, instead it seems like tongue-in-cheek preaching to the audience. It tells us that this is dumb, that these people are in denial, the pastor is a hypocrite, the people are just grubbers, etc.

Those who think this is great satire should watch masterful examples. Start with "Dr. Strangelove," "The Mouse that Roared," "The Great Dictator," and "Ninotchka." Then see how this movie stacks up. There can be no real comparison.

For the parts they had to play, most of the cast are OK. Dick Van Dyke, Edward Everett Horton and Tom Poston have been in much better comedies and roles than they have here. Again, it's an idea with a lot of potential. Norman Lear just needed to be a little more creative and imaginative. One shouldn't announce that people are about to see a satire, and then deliver them predictable bits and pieces. Without its comedic punch, satire slips into lecturing and finger pointing. My five stars are for the idea, a few laughs, and the decent effort some of the cast put into their roles.