03/27/06 Thank You For Smoking

Thank You For Smoking (2005), directed by Jason Reitman

watched w/ Leslie; theater (Brier Creek Stadium 14 Cinema, Raleigh, NC); free screening

I'm not at all an advocate of smoking. Actually, I think it's quite gross and makes you smell like butt all day long. However, I leave it up to people individually to decide for themselves if they want to smoke cancer sticks to their heart's content (and past their lungs' capacity). Hopping off the soapbox now, this film is quite possibly the most brilliant analysis of not only the cigarette industry, but the smoking culture, side-effects, politics, cool factor, and Joe Camel all wrapped into one. I'm sure the original book of the same title by Christopher Buckley may be even more scathingly funny than the flick...but kudos are in order for rookie filmmaker Jason Reitman here for one hell of a cast & funny script (he's got it in his genes from "Ghostbusters" dad Ivan). The story revolves around one man (Aaron Eckhart on point) who is a lobbyist/spin doctor for Big Tobacco, who admittedly doesn't necessarily report the truth but filters it (insert clever pun here). All the while that Eckhart is trying to win debates over the heated topic of smoking vs. health by proving everyone else is wrong but him, he must remain a role model for his young son. Tackling all the ridiculous jabbering of topics like this in today's government is satirized splendidly here; involving talk show banter, Congressional hearings, kidnap plots, Hollywood product placement, over-media saturation, backstabbing, radical activism, big business lackeys...you name it. Some of the best jokes come at the pow-wows the lobbyist has with his drinking buddies, both heads of the alcohol lobby and firearm rights committee (played by Maria Bello & David Koechner), affectionately nicknamed the "Merchants Of Death." There is a great commentary running throughout the film, with sight gags and labels that run as captions to the scenes in some parts. If the book is as good as the screenplay, it seems as if we have a comedic novel along the lines of a Kurt Vonnegut or Al Franken, mixed with the coolness of the "Daily Show" w/ Jon Stewart. One of the best satires I've seen in quite awhile. Hilarious.

5 out of 5 stars