On the surface, Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) would make a perfect reporter: He’s always questioning things, searching for credible sources and telling others to “find out for yourself.”
But his complete lack of ethics wouldn’t cut it in the newsroom. In the new movie “Thank You for Smoking,” based on Christopher Buckley’s 1994 novel, the closest Nick gets to a newsroom is sleeping with a reporter who is “interviewing” him.
Nick, who dubs himself the “Colonel Sanders of tobacco,” is paid the big bucks as a spokesman for the Academy of Tobacco Studies, an institution paid for by various cigarette companies. Scientists there have researched the effects of cigarettes for 30 years, but have found inconclusive results.
Nick attempts to make cigarette manufacturers look innocent through public relations work. He smooth-talks his way against any challenger, outwitting a senator, the general public and a senator’s aide. He even talks confidently to a cancer patient and a former Marlboro Man now dying of cancer as if they were friends.
Despite his job, Nick is still a committed father who takes his son, Joey (Cameron Bright), to cigarette industry conventions and meetings.
Ortolan K. Finistirre (William H. Macy), a Vermont senator, is Nick’s main challenger. The senator wants to label cigarette packs with a skull-and-bone poison warning, causing cigarette makers to become fearful. After all, teen smokers are their “bread and butter,” according to Nick’s boss.
With sales down across the board, Nick formulates a plan with a movie producer to put cigarettes in the hands of Hollywood actors in a futuristic setting to make smoking look cool and appealing.
The deal falls through, though, after Washington, D.C., reporter Heather Holloway (Katie Holmes) reveals Nick’s many secrets in an article. After being exposed, Nick is challenged by his son and the industry’s harsh public relations standards. The institution tries to distance itself from Nick as he decides what to do with his life.
The movie, made by Jason Reitman, the son of “Animal House” producer Ivan Reitman, makes a surprising and superb debut as a feature film director. His experience in TV advertising makes him a perfect fit to make this movie.
The experienced cast in “Thank You” convinces viewers that each character is serious about their “cause,” making for several hilarious moments.
A group made up of Nick, a gun lobbyist and an alcohol lobbyist is collectively known as the Merchants of Death, or MOD, and they meet once a week. The group argues over which industry – gun, alcohol or cigarette – kills the most people. They argue smoothly, as if they’re trying to convince a politician, and casually, as if they’re arguing whether or not the Ducks or the Beavers have the better football team.
Of course, Nick wins the pointless debate because the MOD determines that guns only kill 30 people a day and alcohol only 200 a day. They use the term “only” as if these were silly, meaningless numbers.
Although Nick works for an industry labeled as evil, there are some admirable traits about him. As a father, he is serious about spending time with Joey and passes his debate skills on to him. As an employee, he is loyal to his boss, friends and co-workers. Most of all, Nick believes in himself and he knows people better than most. He is a charmer who knows what people like and don’t like. He also believes that people can decide for themselves and encourages his son to challenge his teachers.
But Nick’s downfall is that he is oblivious to cigarette facts and tells himself he is doing the job to pay the mortgage.
Nick is so smooth that viewers will be convinced that the cigarette industry really is innocent – it’s the people that are dumb. In a meeting with the real-life Nick Naylor, director Reitman said he, too, saw this reaction in people at a meeting.
“I do believe people should have the right to smoke. Just as I believe people should have the right to be stupid,”
Reitman wrote in FLM Magazine.
The movie reminds viewers that many industries have evil aspects.
In one scene a movie industry executive assistant, played by Adam Brody, offers Joey Red Bull and coffee.
What about the effects of caffeine? Nick points out that the senator’s state of Vermont, maker of cheese products, produces a product filled with cholesterol.
“Thank You” reminds viewers to be wary of sweet-talkers, spin and public relations. The movie encourages viewers to take Nick’s advice and think for themselves.
“Thank You for Smoking” is opening soon at the Bijou Art Cinemas. Visit www.bijou-cinemas.com for show times. The movie has a run time of 92 minutes and is rated R for language and some sexual content.
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