Cigarette Girl (2009)

In the near future laws against smoking have increased to the point where you must live in a certain part of town called the Smoking Section if want to smoke cigarettes. Once you have ... See full summary »

Director:

John Michael McCarthy

Writer:

John Michael McCarthy

Stars:

Christopher Tyzhai Allen, D'Army Bailey, Helen Bowman

Cast

Credited cast:
Christopher Tyzhai Allen	...	Dead Grass Boy #2
D'Army Bailey	...	Store Owner
Helen Bowman	...	Grandma
James Buchanan	...	Johnny Valet
Jacob Burcham	...	Customer
Emmy Collins	...	Suspicious Dude
Cori Dials	...	Cigarette Girl
Lary Love Dolley	...	Hat Check Girl
Bruce Downing
J. Lazarus Hawk	...	Ace
Kim Howard	...	Host of Questions and Cancers
Ivy Mclemore	...	Runaway
Donald Meyers	...	Doctor
Billy M. Mullins
Glenn Payne	...	Customer

Storyline

In the near future laws against smoking have increased to the point where you must live in a certain part of town called the Smoking Section if want to smoke cigarettes. Once you have passed the line of demarcation you just know you've crossed the tracks because things get a little grimier, a little more industrial. The sky is a little blacker. The mood is heavier. Someone might get hurt. Cigarettes now cost $63.49 a pack, yet the money derived from this tax obviously isn't going toward this dystopian corner of the city. If you travel there to smoke or to buy (because it is also illegal to buy on the 'clean' side of town) there are several options, but the main place is the Vice Club. There you will find old fashion Cigarette Girls like our heroine with no name. The Vice Club was actually a cigarette factory built in 1935 and designed by the very best deco influenced architects. The original owners even installed a giant 50 foot long Iron cigarette on top of the building that tipped ...

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Plot Keywords:

two word title

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Taglines:

She'd Kill for A Smoke

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Genres:

Fantasy

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 April 2009 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Guerrilla Monster Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

User Reviews

two enthusiastic thumbs DOWN.

This movie had many of the problems of low-budget, independent film, but lacked that spark or charming quirkiness that makes the best ones so special. Think early John Waters in terms of the style/quality of acting, delivery of lines, and ridiculous dialogue...but without John Waters' impeccable logic, credible costume choices, or sense of irony. Minus creativity points since a) this is 30-odd years after John Waters made those films, and b) McCarthy was probably attempting more of a Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez script with a Sin City vibe (he mentioned that he was inspired by comic books and graphic novels).

Out of a group of five people, including myself, we all gave "Cigarette Girl" two enthusiastic thumbs DOWN. Incredibly, this version (which felt interminable) may have even been significantly edited down from a LONGER version, unless the plot holes were just there to begin with. The whole experience (seeing this film's European debut at the Edinburgh International Film Festival) might not have been *quite* so cringey had McCarthy not been there in person...his Q&A after the screening must have been very sparsely attended, and not just because of the utter lack of ventilation, which made me wonder whether the whole experience was some strange social experiment. We wonder if it will become a cult classic just for being so bad, like "The Room." Too bad it doesn't have the acting or plot chops of "The Warriors," or the whimsical soundtrack of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

We figure *someone* must have liked this movie, in order to have included it in the EIFF. Fair enough- different strokes for different folks. However, something tells me its future as a wider release is doubtful. If it DOES come to a theater near you, I'd advise you to skip it...or at least go on bargain night...