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It is very easy to see why one might have a certain amount of trepidation in going to see a film like Thank You for Smoking. A lot of it may have to do with the title. We are automatically given the idea that this is a film that will deal with the subject of smoking cigarettes in a light hearted way. Even smokers may veer away from such a film. It turns out that the title truly does say it all (in a tongue in cheek kind of way). Thank you for Smoking is a biting satire that truly proves that satire can be great, if done tastefully and intelligently. I'd even go so far as to say that Thank You For Smoking is one of the funniest, most intelligent satires to come out of Hollywood in years, and it assaults everyone in its path. How does silver-tongued tobacco-industry apologist Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) live with himself? His cushy gig as spokesman for the Academy of Tobacco Studies consists of using statistical obfuscation, misdirection and doublespeak to position smoking as the front line of the battle for freedom of choice, rather than a blatant example of how a handful of amoral businessmen line their own pockets at the expense of public health. "If you argue correctly, you're never wrong," he assures his starry-eyed 10-year-old, Joey (Cameron Bright), and anyway, everybody has bills to pay, right? Writer/director Jason Reitman (based on the novel by Christopher Buckley) has created a wild romp centered on a fascinatingly egotistical powerbroker too in love with his own abilities, and oblivious to his shortcomings. It's a formula for tragedy and comeuppance that is compelling to watch, along with Nick's attempt at a comeback, which is even more interesting and thrilling. All behavior is taken to the extreme for our comical benefit as Nick ends up in the middle of some hair raising situations, including a kidnapping, a confrontation with the tobacco industry's leading symbol (wonderfully played by Sam Elliott), and finding himself as the man in the middle of a political and personal firestorm when his cockiness catches up to him. Reitman makes every scene as absurd as possible, even when they have an air of truth to them, and he has the right leading man to take us through this roller coaster of a movie. Eckhart is dazzling as a born phony almost brought low by believing his own lies, and he's matched at every turn by a stellar supporting cast that includes Robert Duvall as a Big Tobacco mogul, Sam Elliott as cancer-stricken Marlboro Man Lorne Lutch, J.K. Simmons as Nick's ruthless boss, Rob Lowe as the superagent who cloaks his bullsh** beneath a facade of Asian spirituality, and Bello and Koechner as his partners in slime. Its true strengths come from going beyond the easy jokes: asking why someone might choose to do what Naylor does and how they can look at themselves in the mirror each morning. He's a target for lampooning, but both Eckhart and director Jason Reitman commit to making him human -- and thus render the film as much a character study as a comedy.Read full review
Nick Naylor is the poster boy for smoking. He is big tobacco's front man, the man with the responsibility to always and in any way spin the argument that smoking is bad for you. He has two friends with whom he has lunch every week, Bobby J. Bliss, firearms lobbyist, and Polly Bailey, for the alcohol lobby. They jokingly call their little group the M.O.D. Squad, which stands for "Merchants of Death". Weekly they argue over which credits the most kills! Nick has a young son named Joey who is about twelve. His ex-wife lives in his house with her boyfriend and Joey. Nick's job is to lobby for the Tobacco Lobby called "Academy of Tobacco Studies", fronted by big tobacco to study the links between tobacco and cancer, claiming that there is no definitive link between the two, and advocating personal choice. Senator Finistirre, one of Naylor's most vehement critics, is the promoter of a bill to add a skull and crossbones POISON warning to cigarette packaging. As tobacco sales continue to decline, Nick comes up with an idea that the movies need to once again glamorize smoking, and goes to LA to meet with agents to pitch the idea. While there, Naylor is also sent to bribe Lorne Lutch, the cancer-stricken man who once played the Marlboro Man in cigarette ads. Naylor offers Lutch a suitcase of money for his silence. When Lutch refuses, Naylor suggests he should publicly announce the bribe and say that he's using the money to start a charity for cancer victims—but adds that in that case he can't use any of it to help his own family, because he will seem like a hypocrite. Naylor's argument convinces Lutch to take the hush money for his family. During a televised debate with Finistirre, Naylor receives a death threat from a caller. Despite the threat, Naylor still plans to appear before a U.S. Senate committee to fight Finistirre's bill. Naylor is then kidnapped and covered in nicotine patches. Awakening in a hospital, he learns that the very high nicotine tolerance level resulting from his smoking has saved him from death by nicotine poisoning, but now he is hypersensitive to nicotine and can never smoke again. Along the way, Naylor has been seduced by a young reporter named Heather Holloway. During their steamy fling, the besotted Naylor tells Holloway all about his life and career—information that she happily publishes in an exposé that appears just after the kidnapping. Her article relentlessly bashes Naylor and his work, exposing Lutch's bribe, the movie product-placement scheme, and the MOD squad as well. Nick gets fired by Big Tobacco and falls into depression. His ex-wife and son come to visit, and his son spurs him along to do what he does best, and turn the spin around on Holloway and Finistirre. He goes to the Senate hearings and in "Nick Naylor" style makes a mockery of the hearing, emerging as a hero! Now, Big Tobacco wants him back. . . but he says no, publicly refusing to work for his backstabbing boss. Holloway, publicly humiliated by Naylor's confession of their affair, is reduced to working as a local weather girl. The MOD Squad still meets weekly, now with additional lobbyists for fast food, hazardous waste, and oil drilling. In the footsteps of his father, Joey wins a school debate using lessons his father taught him. Naylor opens a private lobbying firm, in which we see him continuing on the same path, guiding a trio from the cellphone industry concerned about claims that cellphones cause brain cancer. This is a funny movie.Read full review
It may not seem like a great subject to laugh about, but the treatment from book to film is well worth watching! Jason Reitman takes his debut film into high gear and never stops with the satire in this almost Liberterian movie! The Bonus Feature section includes the director, the author, the producer and the main lead actor talking on the Charlie Rose Show, and the insight helped to understand what the purpose of the film was for. Good movie for rental or viewing!
This is perhaps a film that isn't about what it's supposed to be about. For example, often, when gay films like BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN are reviewed, even the mildly homophobic critic will say, "It really isn't about homosexuality," when in fact it is. In the case of THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, we are at the horns of a similar mighty dilemma. It is at once about the evils of smoking AND about the nature of human greed and venality. As the catchphrase of this fine film so eloquently states, "It's about the mortgage." Perhaps, then, it is better to compare this film to something like THE PRODUCERS (any version, especially the original 1968 Mel Brooks film), in which we root for people who are doing wrong - in this case, a shill for the tobacco lobby. In addition, THANK YOU FOR SMOKING features clever writing, biting comic performances, and treats what would seem like an impossible issue - the making heroic of someone who is a merchant of death - with grace and eloquence. This film is highly recommended.Read full review
The movie content gets an A+ for great writing, acting, pacing, etc. The only disappointment is the actual dvd was dislodged from its hub and was rattling around during shipping because that is the way I received it. When I opened this new dvd case, the dvd was not sitting in its hub and scratches were evident. Fortunately, it played fine.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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