Thank You for Smoking

By Brandi M. Seals

Thank You for Smoking, a satire about the cigarette industry, was released in 2005. At first glance I figured the film would be bad. My husband picked it out, the premise seemed so-so, but there were a number of big names attached to the film - such as Robert Duval, Rob Lowe, Katie Holmes and William H. Macy. So I sat back and gave the film a try.

Thank You for Smoking follows the life of Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), a surprisingly likeable cigarette lobbyist. Nick has the power of persuasion. He can take anything and turn it around so that the cigarette industry comes out ahead. It is clear that he loves his job. He knows he is hated but loves that he can so effectively use twisted logic to argue his stance.

The relationship between Nick and his ten year old son is strained. Joey seems like the typical kid. He does what is asked of him and does not question authority. Joey does, however, question how his dad can do what he does. Nick quickly explains that everyone needs someone to speak up for them. He is merely doing that for the tobacco industry. He goes on to teach his son how to argue and encourages him to question what is right.

Nick spends his days being interviewed or responding to current situations in the media that are related to the tobacco industry. At one point, he goes on the Joan Lunden Show and actually gets a cancer-ridden teenager to see that the tobacco industry is there for him. He says that it is actually the anti-tobacco people that want the boy to die. That way they can ask for more donations. In turn, the tobacco industry would loose money because they lost a customer. It is twisted logic like this that Nick uses day in and day out to defend the industry.

So as not to feel too alone, Nick surrounds himself with others who are hated. They are the Merchants of Death squad. All of them are lobbyist for less than favorable industries. For example, Polly (Maria Bellos) works for the alcohol industry and Bobby Jay (David Koechner) is for guns. The group meets for lunch regularly and strategizes on how to deal with certain situations.

My favorite scene in the whole movie involves the Merchants of Death squad sitting around and bragging about how many people are killed by their particular industry each year. Cigarettes by far outweigh the other two, which is why Nick says that there are terrorist out after him and not after the other two.

This fast paced comedy does not seem like it runs an hour and a half but some how it does. It is witty and dripping with sarcasm. There are the requisite one-liners and spoofs that will leave viewers talking for days. Do not be confused, this movie does not promote the use of cigarettes. It is a satire poking fun of the questionable morals those within the tobacco industry must possess in order to do their jobs.

I was a little sad to see that all the big name players just had minor roles, but in the end I do not think it affected the quality of the film. William H. Macy is the perfect actor to play Senator Ortolan K. Finistirre. The senator from Vermont works to add a scull and crossbones label to cigarettes so that way everyone knows that they are poison. However, Nick counters saying that anything that can cause death should be labeled - including the artery-clogging cheddar cheese that the people of Vermont are unloading on other.

Thank You for Smoking is not a traditional comedy. You will not fall out of your seat laughing from this one, but it is rather amusing. While it is not one of my favorite movies, I would still give it 4 out of 5 stars. That is a hard rating to achieve these days as it seems movies in general have gone way downhill. I think it was well acted, the dialog was witty and entertaining, and the concept was great. It has been a long time since we have had a really good satire to watch. Well, this is one. So if you like satires go out and rent Thank You for Smoking.