Thank You for Smoking (2006)

• Review: *** ½ (out of ****)
• Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, AdamBrody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, David Koechner, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy,J.K. Simmons, Robert Duvall, Kim Dickens
• Director: Jason Reitman
• Screenplay: Jason Reitman (Novel: Christopher Buckley)
• Length: 92 min.
• MPAA Rating: R (for language and some sexual content)

Millions of Americans are addicted tocigarettes. The figures are there but the cigarette industry wants you tobelieve they aren't all that bad for you. Thank You for Smoking is about thelife of one man whose job it is to bolster the Big Tobacco in the public'seyes.

Someone has to do it, right? Big industries needspokespeople too. Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) represents a tobacco researchgroup whose sole job it is to convince the public that smoking is not only safebut enjoyable. Figures are tossed out both in favor and against throughout thefilm but it's not whether smoking is good or bad for you that this witty satireis about.

Naylor sees himself as "morally flexible" butdoes his job because he's good at it. Keeping friends is difficult when you'reshilling for one of the most hated industries in America but Naylor has lunchfrequently with people just like himself. Polly Bailey (Maria Bello) representsthe alcohol industry and Bobby Jay Bliss (David Koechner) speaks for thefirearm business. They call themselves the M.O.D. Squad (Merchants of Death)and compare death statistics and other facts during their meals together.

Director Jason Reitman is more famous as the sonof legendary comedy director Ivan Reitman than he is for his own career. Havingdirected a half-dozen other features, this is Reitman's first major success.Jason takes a different approach to filmmaking than dear-old dad. Ivan's workhas been primarily in the broad humor category (Meatballs and Ghost Busters ). Thank You for Smoking however, ismore satirical than anything Ivan's ever done. Perhaps it's this reason whySmoking is the family's best picture to date (his father's more subtle Davea close second). Whatever the reason, Ivan should be immensely proud.

Reitman does a fantastic job adaptingChristopher Buckley's novel to the screen. He keeps the film funny whiletackling incredibly difficult topics. Helping in this affair, Eckhart doeswonderful things with his role. He manages to create a sense of trust in theaudience. We believe his motives and reasons behind what he does. We buyeverything he's selling, except the cigarettes. But buying into the tobaccoindustry isn't the goal of the movie. ThankYou for Smoking insists that we all play to our strengths and that's whatNaylor does.

The rest of the film is peppered with credibleperformances. Even the typically weak Katie Holmes is convincing. It's anensemble deserving recognition but the best things about the movie come from Reitman.

His script also espouses a more liberal look atthe Freedom of Speech. Naylor doesn't hate cigarettes. He's a smoker after all.Nevertheless, he firmly believes that they can and do kill. That doesn't stophim from making a living.

Despite his ex-wife's protest, Nick proceeds toteach his son about what he does but not from a smoker's perspective. Instead,he looks to the powers of persuasion and argument to teach his son about how totruly succeed. Even though he takes his son with him to west coast to speakwith sleepless producer Jeff Megall (Rob Lowe), he tries to steer him clear ofthe more unpleasant parts of his job.

When Nick's asked to make a detour to theoriginal Marlboro Man Lorne Lutch (Sam Elliott), Joey sees first hand both thedangers of the work his father does and the power of his speech. Joey supportshis father despite his mother's best efforts to dissuade him and the encounterwith Lutch only cements his love for his father and the necessity of his work.

It is the scenes between father and son thatgive the film its power of persuasion. Setting aside the career, we see aloving relationship that grows and changes in the course of a film and weunderstand that it's not important which side of the issue one chooses to take.It's how we teach those around us that make us the people we are.

-Wesley Lovell (May 20, 2006)