Let’s make smoking cool again! Public relations executives in “Thank You For Smoking” set their goal. And so this
fantastically satirical comedy takes off.
“Thank You For Smoking,” now on DVD, stars Aaron Eckhart as Nick Naylor, a slick tobacco lobbyist who has been assigned to make smoking cool again. Supporting Eckhart is a slew of great actors including Maria Bello, Robert Duvall, Katie Holmes, Adam Brody and William H. Macy.
In his sojourn to bring smoking back to mainstream America, Naylor is flown to Los Angeles to meet with a Hollywood super-agent, Jeff Megall played by Rob Lowe. Not long into the meeting Megall suggests a movie that puts smoking in space. His idea: Angelina Jolie gets dressed after a wild night of space-station sex and then pulls out her pack of cigarettes and lights up. Brilliant!
“Is that safe?” Naylor asks of smoking in space.
“Oh no problem,” Megall responds.
Along they way, however, Naylor has to deal with his ex-wife and adolescent son, Joey (Cameron Bright). In one scene, Naylor offers up some fatherly advice:
If you argue correctly, you’re never wrong. Joey takes this advice and uses it against
his mom.
“Are you letting your anger from your failed marriage affect your decision to let me go to L.A.?” He asks.
She then capitulates.
The movie, although it centers on the sale of a cancer-causing product, is sweet and
tender. Moments between Joey and his dad are heart-warming. Naylor has to explain
the implications behind his career choice to his inquiring son. These are tough, intense and interesting scenes that make this movie a winner.
However, it is a comedy in most respects. It offers hilarious cynicism and parody. One line from Naylor asks: “Why would cigarette companies want to kill their customers? It’s just bad business.” The movie is riddled with snappy and clever one-liners delivered brilliantly by Eckhart.
“They’re cool, available and addictive! The job is practically done for us!” Naylor’s boss says in one scene.
At a short 92 minutes, “Smoking” ends too quickly. Like a piece of delicious pie, you’re left wanting more. There is enough substance to fuel the movie at every turn. The way writer and director Jason Reitman shifts quickly from one situation to another always holds focus on the film. The ending is heart-warming, but not too cheesy, and does justice to the quality of the movie as a whole.
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