Thank You For Smoking (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Standard
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Style, acerbic wit, acting, story .  .  .  .  .
Disadvantages:	None at all really

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Thank You For Smoking is an acerbic, witty and sometimes shocking look the way American politics works. It will have you laughing uproariously, mainly at the things said by the lead character Nick Naylor, (Aaron Eckhart, Paycheck) in the defence of smoking. See he is a lobbyist for the tobacco concerns and it is his job to defend cigarettes and to make sure people carry on smoking by telling them of all the good points!

Right from the very start Thank You shows a stylish touch, the opening credits being based around cigarette packs and logos with the cast and crew names in place of the brand names. I like to see some originality in credits and this certainly stood out enough to make me sit up and actually watch these credits properly.

Thank You is based on the novel by Chris Buckland and manages to be both scary and funny at the same time… funny because of the things that Nick says and does to promote and extol the virtues of cigarettes and scary because his logic for these points actually almost make sense, it may be skewed logic but logical arguing can win the day if done properly. You can win any argument if you can backup your view with logic and examples, I know I've done it often enough even for things I don't believe at all! Nick actually says to his son, Joey, (Cameron Bright, Birth, Ultraviolet) at one stage "If you argue correctly you are never wrong"

As you follow Nick around, doing his job of promoting tobacco (his 'what your father does' talk to his sons school class is just tear inducingly funny!), meeting up with the self-styled 'Merchants of Death' (representatives for Alcohol (Maria Bello, Coyote Ugly, History of Violence) and Firearms (David Koechner, Anchorman, Snake on A Plane) and taking his son on weekends away (always coinciding with a work related visit) you get an understanding of just how corrupt the whole US political system can be, and probably is. The lobbyists for big businesses wield such power and have such persuasive powers that they can get elected officials to agree to almost anything at all, or if all else fails just twist things around to get what they want anyway.

Of course there is more to the film than this and Nick gets himself caught up in a scandal that may or not lead to his downfall. The question is not only can he actually escape it but also do you, the viewer, actually want him to?

Eckhart is one of those rare examples of perfect casting in this film. He has the good looks to make you believe he could charm anyone without being an out and out pretty boy who you would doubt would have the intelligence to do it. He also has the acting ability to pull of the charm and patter on screen. You do kind of like the man even though you despise him, his job, his attitude to his job and how he goes about it.

Thank You is also blessed with a couple of guest appearances that stand out amongst even the great acting of Eckhart.
Katie Holmes pops up as an investigative reporter, very Lois Lane like, who will do anything she can to get her story. She wants to know more about the voice of tobacco and digs into his life to find out more. I don't think I could have imagined her playing a crusading reporter but her coyness, her clever little looks and her body language were a big side to her character and she pulled them all of very well.
The other quality smallish part is that of a top exec in the film industry who is a whizz at sorting out projects for the right people to get involved in. Nick goes to him with the idea of promoting tobacco in a film. The idea being that by showing everyone in the future smoking it might encourage more faith in the industry and get youngsters started, after all at the moment only 'Psychos and Europeans' smoke on film!
This sleazy entrepreneur is played with characteristic style and charisma by Rob Lowe and he is just perfect for the role, after all he does always manage to portray the almost slimy, witty and quick thinking type character with a certain panache!

There are also guest starring roles for the seriously under rated William H. Macy (Happy, Texas & The Cooler) as Nick's nemesis in the Senate, Senator Finistirre, and Robert Duvall as 'the Captain' the head of the tobacco organisation and southern gentleman.
Throw in character actor J.K. Simons (JJ Jameson in the Spiderman movies & Harsh Times), Sam Elliott (Hulk, Roadhouse) & Adam Brody (O.C., for the girls!) and you can see what an incredible cast has been assembled, and not a one of them lets the show down, a sign of a great director and a great script… and on that line of thought……

Surprisingly this is written and directed by Jason Reitman, son of Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters and Twins director) and is his first full length film. He shows an assured eye for direction and great dialogue. Dialogue is everything to me and this has it in spades. I will be keeping an eye out for more of his films without a doubt.

A favourite film from last year of mine was 'King's Game' which was all about politicians using spin and manipulating the media to get across what they wanted done. Thank You goes one step further and shows you how a good spin doctor can make you believe anything he, or she, wants you, and that is exactly what Nick does and maybe that is exactly what the film does as well, or at the very least it will make you think more about what you can and cant believe from professional spin doctors, papers, journalists and even surveys!
If it is as easy as it seems to twist things to your own purpose then it becomes apparent that even the most distrusting of us can be manipulated without even realising it.