Fox Searchlight Pictures Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Katie Holmes
Directed By: Jason Reitman
Rated: R (Language, Sexual Content)
Fox Searchlight Pictures
I really don't know where I saw the trailer for this film, but I'm glad that I did. Thank You For Smoking is easily one of the funniest comedies I've seen in a while. Independent films like this one have a tendency to remain off of most peoples' radar because they don't make it into the bigger cineplexes. The movie did make it to one of the bigger theaters in our area, but (on our friends' recommendation) we went to see it at a smaller theater instead. This turned out to be a great decision--that theater served beer! Good beer!
The story follows the career of a lobbyist named Nick Naylor (Eckhart), spokesman for Big Tobacco--a slick, fast-talking guy who can not only make it seem like smoking isn't bad but, given enough time, can actually convince people that it's good for them! He hangs out with a couple of fellow lobbyists, Polly Bailey (Maria Bello) and Bobby Jay Bliss (David Koechner), who defend the alcohol and firearms industries (respectively). Together, they refer to themselves as the M.O.D. (Merchants of Death) squad. Facing the a senator who wants to label cigarettes as poison (played brilliantly by William H. Macy), Naylor decides to find a way to glamorize cigarettes by getting them featured prominently in movies like they were in the early days of cinema. Unfortunately, his plans and his career are put in jeopardy when he starts cavorting with a female reporter (Katie Holmes) who will stop at nothing to get the real dirt on the tobacco industry.
Considering the serious subject matter, it's hard to believe that the film could be so funny. Probably the reason it works as a (decidedly black) comedy is that it provides an exaggerated, although probably not entirely off-base, view of what lobbyists actually do for a living. The fact that Eckhart plays Naylor with a casual, reckless abandon makes the film really work--when Naylor talks, you actually see the logic in his arguments even if they are reckless and somewhat insane. The characters all play well off each other, and they are working from a top-notch script that is satire at its finest. The cast was well-chosen, and includes J. K. Simmons (J. Jonah Jameson from the Spider-Man films) as Naylor's boss, Robert Duvall, and Sam Elliot who plays the former Marlboro Man, who is now dying from lung cancer and speaking out against the tobacco companies. The directing is also quite good. It's Jason Reitman's (son of Ivan Reitman) first feature film, and he does a fine job with it.
It's difficult to say more about the film without ruining it for you. Go and see it (probably on DVD since this review is so late). You'll be glad you did.
Bottom line: An independent black comedy/satire that is easily one of the funniest films of the year.