Cold Turkey

Norman Lear’s sharp-toothed 1971 comedy broadside swipe at Nixon-era American values (originally released with a PG rating, and upgraded to PG-13) is set in a recession-hit Iowa town called Eagle Rock, whose mayor (Vincent Gardenia) enlists a charismatic local priest (Dick Van Dyke) to spearhead a revitalization that will be made possible if the town wins a self-promoting contest by a cigarette giant to award millions to any community that can quit smoking for a month. The great cast—best known for their TV work—includes Bob Newhart, Tom Poston, Jean Stapleton, Barnard Hughes, Paul Benedict, and Judith Lowery, who all go through the agonies of nicotine withdrawal and gnawing greed (meanwhile, the classic radio-comedy team of Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding play multiple roles as the entire electronic media covering the escalating circus). Certain elements are badly dated—zingers about Walter Cronkite, hippies, and the Maidenform Bra ad campaign—but Randy Newman’s musical score is wonderful, and the film succeeds as a fine example of Watergate-era satire, created before Lear’s All in the Family made him a household name. Highly recommended. (C. Cassady)