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Thank You For Smoking
Movie Stats & Links

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, David Koechner, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, JK Simmons, Robert Duvall
MPAA Rated: R
Released By: Fox Searchlight
Web Site: .../thankyouforsmoking/
Kiddie Movie: Definitely not, unless you want them to learn how to win every argument they have with you.
Date Movie: It's good for the both of you.
Gratuitous Sex: There's some romping going on, but sadly Katie keeps her clothes on.
Gratuitous Violence: There's a kidnapping that is creepy.
Action: Nah.
Laughs: Lots of them.
Memorable Scene: Pretty much every time Nick is making an argument.
Memorable Quote: Too many to list.
Directed By: Jason Reitman
Produced By: David O. Sacks

Thank You For Smoking
A Movie Review

MPAA Rated - R

It's 1:32 Long

A Review by
The Dude on the Right
Are you looking for a good adult comedy where mostly it’s all about the dialogue that cracks you up rather than slapstick humor? If so, my recommendation is the very witty "Thank You For Smoking." Here’s the story…

Aaron Eckhart is Nick Naylor. He’s the spokesman for the Academy of Tobacco Studies, an academy funded by big tobacco to try and used their own scientific findings to refute those of the health pundits. Things aren’t going too well for the tobacco folks, though, because teen smoking is down, and Senator Finistirre (William H. Macy) wants to have every packet of cigarettes slapped with an ugly skull and crossbones "Poison" graphic. And so Nick just goes about his days coming up with new ways for the tobacco folks to look better in the eyes of the public, namely finding himself on talk shows and propositioning Hollywood to make smoking glamorous again.

While Nick goes through his days, we see his regular meetings with the M.O.D. Squad, namely the merchants of death, Polly (Maria Bello), who lobbies for alcohol, and Bobby (David Koechner), doing the same for firearms, his getting interviewed and then getting it on with Heather (Katie Holmes), whom his other M.O.D. Squad members warn him about, and him trying to grow his relationship with his son, Joey (Cameron Bright), whose mom, Nick’s ex-wife, tries to shield Joey from what Nick does for a living.

The tobacco people are loving Nick because lately he’s been doing a fabulous job, but then Nick’s world comes crashing down one day, for reasons not to be explained here. Who’s there to save the day? Of course it’s his son, Joey, who, thanks to Nick, has truly begun to learn the difference between an argument and a negotiation.

You might think that this is a movie advocating smoking, but it really isn’t. It’s a movie about a dude who does what he does because he’s got a mortgage to pay, and he’s damn good at what he does, namely arguing any position he is assigned to promote. The best examples of this are during his appearance on the Joan Lundon show where he gets "Cancer Boy" to like him, and in front of the Senate hearing on putting the scary label on cigarettes. I won’t go into his arguments, but his points are right on the mark, at least in my eyes. Deep down I think Nick wishes he could be arguing something else, but he hasn’t yet figured out how to showcase his talents in a less controversial area.

The movie is a lot of fun, mostly because of Nick’s talent. There is also the nice relationship that is growing between Nick and Joey, even as Nick has to explain to his son why he does what he does. Joey, though, is a quick learner in the ways of forming an argument.

If you’re looking for toilet humor, "Thank You For Smoking" isn’t it, but for a movie that takes a controversial subject and shows the humor in how you can spin it in any way you want, it is definitely for you. I laughed a lot, Katie Holmes is still hot but not naked, and it was good to see they didn’t take the "father is developing a relationship with his son so he must change his ways" route that most movies would have done. Nick has a job to do, and his son has learned what it is, no matter the questionable moral ground. 4 ½ stars out of 5 for "Thank You For Smoking."

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

 

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