Thank You For Smoking

Review by Adam Frazier

"You know the guy who can pick up any girl? I'm him...on crack."

Nick Naylor, Vice President of the Academy for Tobacco Studies, has a bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names. Naylor plays the role of chief spokesman for Big Tobacco, conglomerated corporations whose main goal is to profit from addiction and death.

Is smoking bad for you? Have there been any conclusive results that link cancer to smoking? This doctor of spin would say no, and you would too after a brief conversation with him. By the end of his eloquently delivered argument, you would be smoking two packs a day and signing up to be the next Marlboro man.

Naylor's product kills more than 400,000 Americans every year, that's over 1000 people a day. Imagine trying to convince not only the general public but also United States senators that these deaths are not connected in any way, shape or form to tobacco, all while trying to be a role model for your twelve-year-old son.

Along with fellow "Merchants of Death" Polly Bailey (Maria Bello), a representative for conglomerated alcohol, and Bobby Jay Bliss, (David Koechner), a pistol-wielding gun lobbyist, Nick (Aaron Eckhart) finds himself flying across the country to spin cigarettes and promote his product.

Naylor's on top of his game until Heather Holloway, a reporter for The Washington Probe, seduces him into divulging personal information. What results is a head-on confrontation between Naylor and Senator Ortolan K. Finistirre of Vermont (William H. Macy).

Finistirre has become something of a lobbyist himself, trying to get a skull and crossbones label, which says POISON under it, placed on every pack of cigarettes. This will be the ultimate spin for Naylor, who must now defend his career, himself and even the future of his son Joey (Cameron Bright), who has picked up the talent for debating and the art of argument from his old man.

Directed by Jason Reitman, Thank You For Smoking is a wonderful satire of big business and American society. The star-studded cast, which also includes Robert Duvall, Sam Elliot, Rob Lowe and JK Simmons, adds voice and flavor to the real star of this film -- the script (adapted from the novel by Christopher Buckley).

Thank Your For Smoking delivers a witty, fresh, look at the tobacco industry that may not be all too far from the truth. It's also a breath of fresh air in the smoky, dimly lit dive that has become the motion picture industry. 

4 out of 5

Thank You For Smoking
Australian release: 2nd May, 2006
Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Robert Duvall, Katie Holmes, William H. Macy, Sam Elliott
Director: Jason Reitman
Website: Click here.