Memoirs of a Cigarette (2007 TV Movie) User Reviews

Memoirs of a Cigarette

[jboothmillard · 8/10 · 8 July 2007]

I have always hated the idea of smoking, and plan (along with alcohol - which I don't like yet, and drugs) not to try, because if you never start, you never continue. Anyway, the day they finally decided to ban cigarettes/smoking in all public places, and make it illegal, and anyone who breaks this law will get fined, was July 1st 2007, and that is the day that this special documentary-type programme was broadcast. Basically it looked back on all the "good" and bad times of the cigarette in the media, mostly TV and film), as it progressed towards this decision. Celebrities, including Bernard Manning (ex-smoker, who had died shortly before this programme was broadcast), Neil Morrissey (smoker), Bob Mortimer (smoker), Vic Reeves (smoker), June Sarpong (non-smoker), Johnny Vegas (smoker) and Michael Winner (non-smoker) contributed their opinions of smoking, including in the media, and of the ban. The programme included brief history of the cigarette, e.g. for troops in the war, till footage of stars lighting up in classic films, e.g. Humpherey Bogart in Casablanca, many faces who had died smoke related deaths, smoking on mainstream TV, e.g. Harry Enfield and Kathy Burke as The Slobs "I am smoking a fag!", and how smoking used to look fun and attractive, i.e. celebrity endorsement. They even showed liars saying they were good for you, eventually, the signs of smoking being bad, and more deaths lead closer to some action, e.g. large warnings on packets, non-smoking sections, banning cigarette adverts and making more quitting ones, and finally, this huge decision. The smoking ban is basically to limit the amount of cigarette related deaths, and encourage smokers to quit. I am really glad of the ban, they should do the next best thing and take cigarettes off the shop shelves, that way I'll never have access to them if I wanted it (which I won't). Very good!

Starts with a mix of celebs and history but quickly dumbs down into a sitcom and celeb driven "documentary"

[bob the moo · 18 July 2007]

It was the day of the smoking ban in the UK when channel four screened this light-documentary looking at the shift in society that saw smoking go from being fun for all the family to being socially unacceptable. On one hand the film is a "proper" documentary that starts out as an interesting, albeit superficial look back at how smoking was sold via marketing and also via mass media in the form of cinema but in the second half it seems to spend a lot of time showing clips from British sitcoms.

Throughout the film we have contributions from various celebrities who are smokers, ex-smokers or who have never smoked. The collection of opinions is edited together really well to actually make for an interesting flow even if you never think that you are listening to anyone other than celebs! Although this works well it does have the side effect of exposing the lightness of the section that focuses on sitcoms etc. In the first half of the film the historical interest worked well as a strong base to build the celebs around; without that in the second half it does feel like you're watching "The 50 Greatest Smoking Moments in British Sitcoms – Ever" (it being on Channel 4 doesn't help with that feeling either!).

So although it starts out with the mix just right, it loses it by the halfway point and ends up amounting to very little. Being topical on the day of screening will have bought it viewers but I would hazard a guess that it will not be repeated anytime soon because, without the smoking ban as the hook, there isn't really much to make this worth seeing.