August- Osage County
SmokeScreeners Rating: 
Year of Release: 2014
MPAA Rating: R
Director: John Wells
Distributor: The Weinstein Company
This film was reviewed by Dr. Barry Hummel of QDREF on February 21, 2014.
Additional Comments: "Meryl Streep plays a matriarch dying of cancer in this intense family drama. Much of the plot revolves around drug addiction and alcoholism, which makes frequent use of tobacco all the more ironic. Streep leads the pack, accounting for most of the smoking. In one scene Streep's character, who has mouth cancer, lights up in front of her daughter (played by Julianne Nicholson). Nicholson asks if she is supposed to be smoking. "Is anybody supposed to be smoking?" asks Streep. While the implication is that the cancer was caused by the smoking, the characters never come out and say that directly. There are also scenes in which Streep's 14 year-old granddaughter (Abigail Breslin) smokes. At one point, here mother (played by Julia Roberts) sarcastically mentions how happy she is that her daughter is smoking. Yet given the family history of addiction, and the fact that tobacco use is a gateway to many of those addictions, you would think Robert's character would take a stronger stand."
