Movie Maven

Thank You for Smoking (2006)
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, J.K. Simmons, Maria Bello, David Koechner, Rob Lowe
Written and Directed by: Jason Reitman
Official Website

(Photo: Bello, Koechner, Eckhart; courtesy of salon.com)

One of my favorite things to do is rip into a movie that everyone else loves. From Gone With the Wind, to Titanic, there are few greater pleasures than pointing out the glaring idiocy of some of the best-loved films of all time. I went to see Thank You for Smoking this weekend with mixed feelings: I knew that it would either live up to the hype or completely bomb. I hadn't seen a crap movie that everyone else loved in a long time, and part of me wanted it to bomb so I could destroy it with diabolical relish. Its ego, or a bizarre film-related sadism, but I find it hilarious.

So in a twisted sort of way, I was disappointed. Because Thank You for Smoking does live up to the hype, and more. While I hate the term "laugh-out-loud funny," it was precisely that. A mixture of absurdist and extremely subtle humor, blended with fantastic casting, brilliant writing, and wonderful camera direction. A well-tended strawberry daiqueri of a film, if you will.

Meet Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart,) divorced, father, and super-lobbyist currently flacking for the tobacco industry. He can talk his way out of anything, and has been named the Sultan of Spin. There isn't really a plot so much as a series of subplots outlining Naylor's life. He goes on a talk show and successfully argues against three anti-smoking advocates and a 15-year-old "Cancer Boy." He visits with the "Captain" of the tobacco industry (Robert Duvall.) He goes to L.A. to bargain with an Asian culture-obsessed executive (Rob Lowe) to include more smoking in films. He lunches with the lobbyists for alcohol (Maria Bello) and firearms (David Koechner,) who affectionately refer to themselves as the M.O.D. Squad (Merchants of Death.) He sleeps with a reporter (Katie Holmes) and is promptly burned by her in an article. And he argues against a hippy anti-smoking Vermont senator (William H. Macy.)

If the content of the past five or six parentheses are any indication, this is an inspired cast, all hilarious in their own right. Eckhart was never a favorite of mine, but he's slips into Naylor's consciousness seamlessly. He's sleazy, true, but not repulsive. His charm is infectious, and his colorful spin eventually begins to dupe you too. "Cholesterol is the leading cause of death in the United States," he says at a Senate hearing. "And here's Vermont clogging the nation's arteries with it's Vermont cheddar cheese!" Ridiculous? Of course. But you're so charmed you don't care. It suddenly becomes feasible that his ludicrous tactics would work with the public. Macy is his usual talented self. He makes his Senator Finnistirre both right in ideals, and just as sleazy as Naylor, at one point yelling at an aide for not finding a pathetic-enough Cancer Boy. Lowe, along with Adam Brody as his enthusiastic lackey, Jack, both have perfect timing- and it's Brody of all people who says probably the funniest line in the movie. Even the latter member of the unholy "TomKat" alliance holds her own.

It's interesting to note that everything in the film looks tainted by tobacco. It was filmed in a yellowish hue that looks like tar has settled on the walls, in the air, on the characters. And it occurred to me later that despite the prevalence of smoking (it is the premise of the film after all,) no one is actually shown smoking. Or not that I can recall. At one point, Nick sits with his sleeping son and crushes an empty pack, but that's about it. Strange, and I'm still pondering what it could mean. They certainly don't shy away from the effects of smoking- there is one sobering scene where Nick bribes the original Marlboro Man, who's been ravaged by smoking-related illnesses.

So don't feel bad for me. I can comfort myself by shamelessly mocking Titanic or some other over-hyped movie. And go see Thank You for Smoking and spread some spin of your own.

(Note: A few grammatical dribs and drabs were corrected from an earlier version of this post.)