THANK YOU FOR SMOKING: starring Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Sam Elliott, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, Katie Holmes, David Koechner, and Robert Duvall. Warning: This film may cause side splitting laugh attacks, and introspective thought provoked by politically incorrect humor. Pregnant women can safely view the following. 'Thank You for Smoking' is based on the Christopher Buckley novel, and is directed by Jason Reitman, the son of famed Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman. This satirical take on "spin" in today's America centers on Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), the tobacco industry's main lobbyist in Washington, DC, and spokesman for the "Academy of Tobacco Studies". He is the quintessential anti-hero, fronting an organization that has legally killed many millions of people. He advocates personal freedom for the many that choose to light up and smoke, nimbly surviving landmine questions in his public dealings, with answers that twist the questions onto the accuser. Nick Naylor's only two real friends are representatives of organizations that also get cast a lot of blame for society's ills the alcohol industry's Polly Bailey (Maria Bello), head of the Moderation Council, and the firearm industry's Bobby Jay Bliss (David Koechner), who heads the gun advisory group Safety. At their frequent dinner meetings they compare fatality stats from their own respective products like an ESPN announcer: 30 daily firearm related deaths, 270 daily alcohol related deaths, and tobacco, the overwhelming champion with 1,200 daily deaths. Together the three lobbyists are known as the Merchants of Death. Nick Naylor is in the center of the bulls-eye as Vermont Senator Ortolan K. Finistirre (William H. Macy) pursues a bill that would make it mandatory for a skull and crossbones to be put on the sides of all packs of cigarettes. Jeff Magell (Rob Lowe) is the Hollywood super agent that Nick goes to about the product placement of cigarettes in films, because (as he points out), the majority of people who smoke in films today are Russians, Arabs, or villains. Nick has joint custody of his son Joey with his wife Jill, and as the film progresses, he makes an effort to reach out to him, answering frank questions about how he can do such a morally questionable job that causes him to be despised, hated, and the object of death threats and scorn. In his dealings across the country, he has to placate the ex-Marlboro Man (Sam Elliott), who now has cancer, fend off zealous reporter Heather Holloway (Katie Holmes), and report to the "captain" of the tobacco industry Doak Boykin (Robert Duvall). The thing about this film which is utterly fascinating is that not one cigarette is smoked, and there is not a clear bias as to which side you should belong to, or which beliefs you should subscribe to. Whatever your feelings are, you will be forced to examine them after watching this movie. 'Thank You for Smoking' takes an objective look at a taboo subject, and gives you the unfiltered truth - a behind the scenes peek at how "spin" impacts and shapes our culture. The moral of this story is to examine the "talk" that we are in the midst of on a daily basis, whether we know it or not, and to take responsibility for your choices, and not to be duped by spin tactics. Every side pushes their own agenda, with many of us caught unwittingly in the middle. Because of its raw visage, this is not a completely easy film to watch, but it is a satire after all, so do not take everything "as is". The M.P.A.A. has deemed it necessary to label this film rated R.
Review of Thank You for Smoking
