“Thank You For Smoking”
Directed by: Jason Reitman. Starring: Aaron Eckhart, William H. Macy, Robert Duvall, Cameron Bright, Maria Bello, David Koechner, Katie Holmes.
“Thank You For Smoking”, director Jason Reitman’s film based on the novel by Christopher Buckley, takes a comedic look at U.S. government, the lobbyist sector, and one lobbyist in particular, Nick Naylor.
The film follows Naylor (Eckhart) as he makes a name for himself in the tobacco lobbyist world. Reitman and Eckhart have the difficult tasks of developing a film around a potentially very unlikable character. But, they don’t hold back or make him a victim of his world. He speaks on behalf of tobacco and he’s good at it- in fact, he’s the best. Even when Naylor speaks to his 12 year old son’s class about his job and he’s “attacked” by a young girl whose Mother told her smoking was bad, he stays on target. Without skipping a beat, Naylor questions whether that girl’s mother is a researcher or doctor and qualified to make that statement.
Part of the film revolves around Nick’s relationship with his son. He takes care of him on weekends, but is trying to make more of an effort. Joey is, at first, embarrassed by his father’s occupation and behavior. But after watching and learning the power of speaking, arguing and debating well, he’s fascinated- as is the viewing audience.
Naylor interacts with a variety of interesting characters in “Thank You For Smoking”. He has lunch with gun (Koechner) and alcohol (Bello) lobbyists. The three of them call themselves the “MOD Squad”, MOD meaning Merchants of Death. Their arguments over who’s got the most difficult and dangerous jobs are demented and hilarious. Nick also has a fling with a young reporter (Holmes), and does battle with a Vermont Senator (Macy), who’s out to destroy cigarette sales with huge, graphic poison-type warning labels.
Reitman and Eckhart ultimately, in my opinion, win the audience over. You might not be cheering on the tobacco industry in the end, but don’t be surprised if you’re rooting for Nick Naylor.
Story: B
Acting: A-
Visuals: B
Originality: A-
Enjoyability: B+
Overall: B
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