Thank You For Smoking

Thanks to an invite from a cool guy in our film class, a friend and I were lucky enough to see a prescreening of the new film Thank You For Smoking, directed by Jason Reitman, son of Ivan Reitman. I’m writing this review based on memory and with a bad head ache so bear with me here.

This hilarious and awesome satire, based on a book by Christopher Buckley was the story of Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), a tobacco lobbyist and master of bullshit. The film opens with Nick on a talk show faced with anti-tobacco spokespeople including a young kid with cancer and the cards stacked against him in turning the audience in his favor. Being the master of spin that he is, Nick is able to tackle this challenge and within a few minutes, the audience is on his side and thinking the tobacco company might not be that bad.

Through out the course of the film, Nick gives the anti-tobacco lobbyists, lead by William H. Macy (as a senator from Vermont who wants to put skull and crossbones poison labels on cigarettes) a severe publicity pummeling. He brags to his friends, the M.O.D. Squad, M.O.D. standing for “Merchants of Death” about his triumphs. The MOD squad includes Nick as well as a liquor lobbyist played by Maria Bello, and a gun lobbyist played brilliantly by David Koechner (or as many might know him, Champ Kind from Anchorman).

They warn him of a hot female reporter named Heather, played by Katie Holmes. Let me just say that I could tell right away that this film was great when I completely forgot that I was watching the future Mrs. Tom Cruise.

As the film continues, Nick starts to teach his son Joey about his job and about how to never loose and argument. The great ideas of how to make smoking cool again will crack anyone up. And be sure to pay close attention to Rob Lowe as an Asian-obsessed Hollywood super-agent.

Nick appears to be on top of the world when things take a bit of a nosedive for him. I don’t want to give too much away because I really want you all to go see this great film, but I will say that at one point, Nick awakens half naked and covered in nicotine patches on the lap of the Lincoln Memorial.

The film was great and after it ended, Reitman and Buckley took questions from the audience. Both guys were really funny, so it’s no surprise that the film was so great.

Anyway, I’ll just say this film gets two big thumbs up from Trashwire and you should all check it out as soon as it opens near you.

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