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THANK YOU FOR SMOKING A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
Based on Christopher Buckley's very politically incorrect novel, THANK YOU FOR SMOKING is a hilarious and intelligent comedy that will require at least two viewings to catch all of the delicious dialog since the audience will be in a constant state of laughter. (Warning: It's hard to say the title without accidentally inserting the word "NOT.") The humor comes not from Hollywood's traditional slapstick but from biting satire of the type that Neil LaBute made famous in IN THE COMPANY OF MEN. And, in a perfect bit of casting, the two films share the same star, Aaron Eckhart.
The time Eckhart isn't out to scam and abuse a single girl in an office. Nick Naylor, Eckhart's character in THANK YOU FOR SMOKING is the "Sultan of Spin," who is out to convince the world some things about the effects of tobacco smoking. A verbal gymnast of the first order, he doesn't argue that smoking is harmless. Instead he says that questions need to be asked about the anti-smoking forces' claims. He figures that if he can pokes holes in the other side's argument, then he has won and they have lost. Trust me; you don't want to engage Nick in a debate.
Although Nick is clearly the lead character, the film is filled with a great cast, which writer and director Jason Reitman manages to get pitch-perfect performances from. Nick meets regularly for lunch with a group who unofficially call themselves the M.O.D. squad, for Merchants of Death. Nick is a lobbyist for the tobacco industry while Polly Bailey (Maria Bello) is a heavy drinker and a lobbyist for the alcohol industry and Bobby Jay Bliss (David Koechner) represents the firearms industry. Bobby Jay's group thinks the title of their group is so cool that they are thinking of putting it on a bumper sticker.
Nick's official position is as a Vice President of the Academy of Tobacco Studies. Nick brags with glee that they have a scientist so clever that he could disprove gravity.
Nick's son Joey, played by Cameron Bright, who was last seen shooting his father in RUNNING SCARED, is an eager pupil of his father. A fast learner, 11-year-old Joey asks his dad why America has the greatest government in the world. His teacher may have thought that this homework question was challenging, but in a microsecond Nick knows the answer. Our greatness comes from "our endless appeals system."
At work Nick is a whiz. When his take-no-prisoners boss, BR (J.K. Simmons), wants to know how to dramatically boost cigarette sales, Nick has a solution instantly at hand -- lots more glamorous smoking in the movies. After all, Nick reasons, "These days when anybody smokes in the movies, they are either a psychopath or a European."
Nick looks like he may have finally met his match in Heather Holloway (Katie Holmes), a sexy investigative reporter for The Washington Probe. As she lets him probe her body, she elicits all of the scandalous details she can get from the "Yuppie Mephistopheles," as some have called him.
In a movie that has a single gear, overdrive, it still manages to kick it up another notch when Nick and Joey head for Tinseltown to speak with Jeff Megall (Rob Lowe), the head of the mega-agency called E.G.O. Sleeping only one day a week (Sunday) so that he can keep in touch with his interests around the world, Jeff knows just how to put Nick's ideas to practice. He has a sci-fi film that will feature Brad Pitt blowing smoke rings around Catherine Zeta-Jones as they float in space.
As Nick effectively homeschools Joey during the trip, Joey wants to know what is the secret to his dad's success. "Moral flexibility," is what you need in his line of work, Nick explains.
This review has barely scratched the surface of this mile-a-minute comedy. Among entire subplots not mentioned is the one involving Vermont Senator Ortolan Finistirre (William H. Macy), whose state produces that cholesterol-laden killer, Cheddar cheese, and one about the Captain (Robert Duvall), who rules the tobacco world from his home in Winston-Salem.
Perhaps the best part of the picture is that part that isn't there. The film never pulls its punches. Usually black comedies like this feel the need for a long third act in which the lead character is forced to atone for his sins and renounce his devils. Not this time.
Tobacco is a killer, but so is THANK YOU FOR SMOKING. Don't forget to breathe between laughs or you could die from a lack of oxygen.
THANK YOU FOR SMOKING runs a blisteringly fast 1:32. It is rated R for "language and some sexual content" and would be acceptable for teenagers.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, March 17, 2006. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas. THANK YOU FOR SMOKING was the opening night film at this year's Cinequest Film Festival (www.cinequest.org) in San Jose.
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Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com
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