Thank you for Smoking (2006)

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%