Director: Jason Reitman
Screenplay: Jason Reitman (based on the novel by Christopher
Buckley)
Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Cameron Bright, William H. Macy
Music: Rolfe Kent
Time: 92 minutes
Bottom-line: Highly impressive. Brilliant filmmaking on a
sensitive topic
Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles
Manson kills people. I talk. Everyone has a talent.
Currently,
every movie, whether it is screened in a theatre or aired on TV, must advertise against smoking. “Smoking causes cancer; smoking kills”
is probably the most repeated line on television. In 2006, Jason
Reitman took Christopher Buckley’s book and decided to make a film on this
extremely sensitive topic - smoking - and boy, did he pull off a success!
When you argue correctly, you're
never wrong.
Meet
Nick Naylor (Eckhart): handsome, stylish, and the best of the lot in his job.
His job? A “lobbyist” and Vice President of “The Academy of Tobacco Studies”,
which has been researching the relationship between tobacco smoking and lung cancer.
Nick’s job is to report the findings of the Academy and also to question
opposing health claims. He advises people to take their own choice when it
comes to smoking. Nick’s method of arguing inspires his son, Joey (Bright).
Nick’s friends - firearm lobbyist Bobby Jay Bliss (David Koechner) and alcohol
lobbyist Polly Bailey (Maria Bello) call themselves the “Merchants of Death”.
Meanwhile, Senator Finistirre (Macy) wants to promote the skull-and-bones
warning sign on all cigarette packs. In a debate between Nick and the Senator,
Nick gets a death threat from a caller. Nick is also destroyed by a seductive
reporter, Heather Holloway (Katie Holmes), who exposes all his “true”
intentions. How does Nick strike back?
 |
| Eckhart as Nick (right), and Bright as Joey |
Few people on this planet know what
it is to be truly despised. Can you blame them? I earn a living fronting an
organisation that kills one thousand two hundred human beings a day.
Like
Reitman’s future films, Thank you for
Smoking also carries a distinctive style of filmmaking: the smart and witty
lead character, the first-person narrative, the catchy opening
sequence and a story revolving around a sensitive topic – this film deals with
smoking, while his later films Juno and Up in the Air deal with teenage
pregnancies and the need for human attachments, respectively – and a brilliant
script. As much as we all know that cigarettes are harmful, it is still a
business that will be running as long as people do smoke. The fact that the story is narrated from a person in the industry makes it interesting by giving
us a new viewpoint.
 |
| William H. Macy as Senator Finisterre |
Nick
constantly keeps emphasising the fact that it is our choice whether or not to get addicted to cigarettes. In 92
minutes, we see why Nick’s method of articulation makes him the best at what he
is, and how the mere fact that he works for a cigarette company affects his
relationship with his ex-wife and son. The second half of the film deals with
Nick’s downfall after Heather’s report and how he bounces back. The humour
comes from the way Nick convinces people that cigarettes aren’t as fatal as
they seem to be, and how he teaches his son (and the viewers) the methods of
arguing.
 |
| Holmes as Heather |
This
role could well be Eckhart’s most stylish role and his best to date, second
only to that of Harvey Dent perhaps. Full of charisma and humour, you know he
is not kidding when he says his (character’s) talent is “to talk”. The scenes
where he appears before the Senate committee and the one where he discusses
the art of “arguing” with his son prove this. J.K. Simmons – who plays Nick’s
boss – and William H. Macy have done well too, and, like in all Reitman films,
their lines/dialogues give a big boost.
So,
while the main reason I watched the film was out of curiosity regarding the
content, I found myself more than satisfied with what I got. This is one satire
that you must not miss – smoker or not!
My Rating: 3.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating:
86%
