With ordinances against smoking blanketing bars across the country, what has become of the once mighty and powerful cigarette? Downtrodden, yet still addictive, even nicotine needs a hero. Who will rise to represent the cancer mongers of the United States?
In the black comedy "Thank You for Smoking," first time writer-director Jason Reitman (son of famed director Ivan Reitman) takes up the banner for big tobacco. Based on the novel by Christopher Buckley, "Thank You for Smoking" is the story of Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), a tobacco lobbyist who revels in championing the bad guy. Known as the "yuppie Mephistopheles," Naylor is not just good at his job, he's great at it. Talk is his profession; he takes pleasure in bending the truth and skewing reality. But when his son questions the morality of his behavior, Naylor begins to reevaluate the consequences of his actions.
With a direct script and a strong ensemble cast, "Thank You for Smoking" is engaging and provocative. Reitman skillfully adapts the sharpness of Buckley's prose without compromising the story's unapologetic political incorrectness. For example, in one scene Naylor visits his son's school for career day, and when one girl exclaims that smoking kills, Naylor retorts "Is your mother a doctor? Is she a cancer specialist? Then she doesn't sound like a credible source, now does she?"
Eckhart does an outstanding job as the slick Naylor. He presents a man enamored with his job, one who craves its most lascivious and glad-handing aspects. A modern anti-hero, Eckhart's Naylor rivals any colorful figure from Thackeray or Dickens, and he embraces the inherent contradictions of his character with glee.
Robert Duvall, Rob Lowe and William H. Macy play an eclectic array of other characters and bring star caliber performances to smaller roles. Duvall embodies mint julep-sippin' southern charm as "Captain," the ancient owner of a tobacco empire. Lowe lays on the Hollywood smarm as Jeff Megall, a producer in cahoots with Naylor to put smoking back in the movies through ridiculous product placements. In one production meeting, Megall proposes taking cigarettes to the final frontier in the newest astronaut adventure, explaining that although there is no oxygen in space, characters should still be able to smoke Marlboros after a passionate romp in the Milky Way. As the beaky Vermont senator Ortolan Finistirre, William H. Macy brings a hilarious piety to the Senate Anti-Smoking Commission in its battle to suppress the Naylor spin machine.
Other notable performances include Maria Bello as liquor lobbyist Polly Bailey and David Koechner as firearm advocate Bobby Jay Bliss, who lunch with Naylor to discuss their career woes as part of a club affectionately dubbed "M.O.D.s" or "Merchants of Death." Even the usually bland Katie Holmes gives an engaging performance as a conniving newspaper reporter using her feminine wiles to get the scoop on big tobacco.
"Thank You for Smoking" is strongest as a biting satire of Washington politicking. Reitman keeps the pace quick with creative editing that captures the intelligence and wit behind the script. Still frame shots and smart graphic effects create a somewhat whimsical feel to the film.
One small admonition against the film is that some of the storylines seem cut short. "Thank You for Smoking" takes great time and effort in crafting several compelling characters, but at a relatively short 92 minutes, a few less-developed subplots (one involving an assassination attempt) leave open some loose ends in an otherwise tight film. Under the wrong direction, "Thank You for Smoking" could have veered into a bland, de-clawed parody. But with a strong pen and innate comic sensibilities, Reitman succeeds in crafting a compelling story, and has marked himself as one of the next filmmakers to watch.
