NOV/DEC 2006
Volume 12 - No. 4
SRNT Newsletter
November/December 2006, Volume 12, Number 4
Movie Review: Thank You for Smoking
Thank You for Smoking, a movie recently released on DVD, is a satire adapted from Christopher Buckley's novel with the same title. The movie includes some very funny moments, but also comments on topics that are indeed no laughing matter. The movie centers on tobacco lobbyist Nick Naylor, "the sultan of spin." Naylor is also Vice President and Chief Spokesman for the Academy of Tobacco Studies, the research unit of big tobacco. Naylor is always pompous in reporting that even after 30+ years of research, no harmful effects of smoking have been discovered. Naylor is proud to have what he identifies as "Moral Flexibility," claiming if you can argue correctly, you are never wrong; one does not have to prove that he is right, ONLY that his opponent or opposing view is wrong.
During the movie, there are numerous casual meetings with drinking among the MODS trio — the "Merchants of Death Squad." This includes Naylor, Polly (Maria Bello), who sells and promotes alcohol use, and Bobby Jay (David Koechner), who hustles guns in the firearms business. These three compare notes, with Naylor always claiming to be the most successful, attributing 12,000 deaths per day related to his cause. The movie's plot revolves around an anti-smoking senator pushing for legislation to require a skull-and-crossbones logo on all cigarette packs. In an effort to promote cigarette appeal though putting sex back into cigarettes, thus increasing sales, Naylor is sent to Hollywood to work with the movie industry to include smoking following an erotic love scene. In the meantime, Naylor is asked for an interview by a sexy reporter who concludes the interview (or so Naylor thinks) by saying she would like to see where the devil (referring to Naylor) sleeps. Naylor falls for the seductress reporter and ends up spending more time with her than planned. During what he believes are confidential encounters with this reporter, he shares many implicit details of his life and the tobacco industry's actions. Ultimately, all the information ends up on the front page of the newspaper, whereupon Naylor's contacts, friends, family, etc. are outraged at him. Because he is indeed a mastermind at spin, he turns the entire situation around and ends up "proving" himself and the tobacco industry to be the heroes.
The movie reveals the personal side of Naylor as a dad who wants to have a good father-son relationship, amidst the ex-wife having custody. However, in the process of spending more time together and fostering their relationship, the son, known as Joey (Cameron Bright), gets a birds eye view of exactly what his father promotes and does for a living. Again, however, Naylor is able to talk himself out of any situation and comes out looking like the good guy, and this time, as the good father. The movie attempts to invert morality, rational thinking, and ethics. There are numerous funny lines and to the viewer's surprise, there are few depictions of actual smoking in the movie itself.
Details:
- Rated: R for some language and sexual content
- Directed and Written by: Jason Reitman
- Producer: David Sacks
- Stars: Aaron Eckhart as Nick Naylor, the tobacco lobbyist and spokesman for the "Academy of Tobacco Studies"; Katie Holmes as Heather Holloway, the Washington reporter; Robert Duval as Naylor's boss (the tobacco industry tycoon known as the Captain); Rob Lowe as Jeff Megall, head of the film industry's Entertainment Global; William H. Macy as Ortolan Finistirre, the anti-tobacco senator.