THANK YOU FOR SMOKING

By Cassie Kauffman

The satire Thank You for Smoking written and directed by first-timer Jason Reitman based on the novel by Christopher Buckley brings a comical presence to the very serious topic of tobacco and the tobacco industry. Nick Naylor, played by Aaron Eckhart, is a spin artist who is very good at what he does. He can turn any argument about the dangers of tobacco into an argument for freedom of choice. When asked why he is a lobbyist for the tobacco industry, he replies that if he can do tobacco, he can do anything. If he can make you seem wrong, he will always be right. Along with the MOD squad - Merchants of Death - the main lobbyists for the alcohol and firearm industries, Naylor finds creative ways to sell a product that kills 1200 people every day. The coarse and callous tobacco industry primarily wants damage control, but if they can make cigarettes more appealing, especially to their bread-and-butter of teenagers; they are in it for the long-haul. Naylor has a great idea to bribe the entertainment industry to show smoking in a more glamorous manner as it had in its glory days of Bette Davis and Clark Gable. They want to see cigarettes in the hands and mouths of the stars not just the RAVs (Russians, Arabs and Villains).

While rated-R, the comedy uses the language and sex for a purpose. For example, career-driven journalist Heather Holloway (Katie Holmes) is writing a piece for the Washington Post on Naylor. When asked how he can live with himself for promoting such a deadly product, he jokes that it is population control, and that 99% of the things that people do, good or bad, is done to pay the mortgage. They find themselves in an amorous tryst that leads to Naylor giving out most of his secrets. Even when Naylor gets kidnapped and attacked with nicotine patches, he is still loyal to his product saying if it hadn?t been for his smoking that that much nicotine would have killed a non-smoker. His only other love seems to be for his son, who he takes along on most of his under-handed dealings. Naylor explains the difference between a negotiation and an argument to his son; an argument being something you can win. When his son asked what kind of person can be a lobbyist, Naylor replies without a blink: someone with flexible morals. This unapologetic and witty look at the tobacco industry from an insider?s perspective is truly unique and pertinent in today?s changing climate of tobacco issues. Some of the lines are so outrageous they are funny, until you realize that they are true. While the viewer waits for Naylor to realize his mistakes and where it might lead his son, we also see quite an editorial on the state of governmental controls in an environment of campaign contributions and special interests. For instance, Naylor spins an argument that the tobacco companies are hypocritical, by saying the U.S. government is more hypocritical subsidizing the tobacco farms, then renouncing the final product.

There are some great performances by Robert Duvall as Captain who represents old tobacco and its old ways. Tobacco takes care of its own. Rob Lowe also encapsulates the eccentric Californian movie agent who like most of the characters has a price. William H. Macy plays the anti-tobacco senator Finistirre. Thank You for Smoking is a great satire on American mores (as American as apple pie, American cheese and the American flag -all together). This movie hits the chord with a clang that can only make you laugh out loud no matter on what side of the ?argument? you fall.