Thank You for Smoking | 
| Director: Jason Reitman
Actors: Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Buy New: $9.99
Rating:  174 reviews
Sales Rank: 7364
Genre: Art House
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: Video On Demand
Running Time: 93 Minutes
ASIN: B000JCCNPE
Theatrical Release Date: April 14, 2006
Release Date: October 14, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Synopsis:
The hero of Thank You for Smoking is Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), chief spokesman for Big Tobacco, who makes his living defending the rights of smokers and cigarette makers in today?s neo-puritanical culture. Confronted by health zealots out to ban tobacco and an opportunistic senator (William H. Macy) who wants to put poison labels on cigarette packs, Nick goes on a PR offensive, spinning away the dangers of cigarettes on TV talk shows and enlisting a Hollywood super-agent (Rob Lowe) to promote smoking in movies. Nick?s newfound notoriety attracts the attention of both tobacco?s head honcho (Robert Duvall) and an investigative reporter for an influential Washington daily (Katie Holmes). Nick says he is just doing what it takes to pay the mortgage, but the increased scrutiny of his son (Cameron Bright) and a very real death threat may force him to think differently. |
| Customer Reviews: Read 169 more reviews...
 Black Lung Comedy November 29, 2008
Tim Brough (Springfield, PA United States)
"Thank You For Smoking" is a movie about suckers. Suckers who are willing to forgo every piece of information available as long as they have one person telling them what they want to believe is right, as long as it's what they want to hear. Into this void steps Nick Naylor (Adam Eckhart), a lobbyist for Big Tobacco, whose job is convincing everyone to take a rolled up tube of paper stuffed with carcinogens, set it on fire and suck the fumes into your body because you have the right to do so. Naylor is the best in the biz, making everyone around him take pratfalls while he tries to be a good dad to his precocious son (unfortunately a cliched part, played up by Cameron Bright).
While predominantly a satire on spin and the gullibility of consumers, "Thank You For Smoking" often misses the bulls-eye for the very thing its premise is based on: SPIN. No-one in the movie smokes. Even the wizened old Patriarch of the firm (played great by Robert Duvall) never lights one up, even as he tells everyone about his great discoveries. Naylor is momentarily seen fidgeting with an empty pack, but that's as close as it gets. It gets difficult to believe the bleating about being too PC when everyone in the film as politically correct as they can be. Even Katie Holmes, as a sleazy journalist, gets one-upped by the ever cunning Naylor.
This is a deep and darkly funny film, but it just doesn't go far enough. The best film in this genre, the Political Satire Wag the Dog, both hit the funny bone and slugged your gut, while TYFS pulls the final punches after about 2/3's of the way in by taking away Naylor's smarminess and turning him into a Disney Dad. Satire can be outrageous, but there also has to be an endgame. The feel-good ending here seems tacked on rather than thought through. It was fun watching Nick spar with the hapless Senator (William H. Macy, delightful as always), but had his name been something less convoluted than Ortolan Finistirre, it might have been less of an obvious ploy. (Ooo look! All American Lobbyist takes on nerdy Gov-Wonk with dopey name!)
"Thank You For Smoking" wussed out when it really could've taken the Spin-Zone to task. Otherwise, it might have been the dark comedy it wanted to be. By trying to have it both ways, however, it simply goes up in smoke.
 Laugh and Think November 2, 2008
Sulen Sarioglu
If you are a smoker watch the film and think,
If you are a non-smoker watch the film and feel as happy as you can and laugh
If your child is a teenager let her watch the film, nothing that the adults tell is enough to give this impression about smoking.
I think this may be a popular film that is watched at school hours.
The terrible results of smoking and how they have been hidden for decades is presented in a very ironic way.
I hope many people watch this film.
 Bland, dull edged satire October 16, 2008
Jmark2001 (Florida)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This has been described as a "razor sharp" satire. It isn't. The main character is a tobacco company lobbyist who defends tobacco interests. The problem here is that we knew that these guys were weasels over forty years ago - this is hardly cutting edge material. Many, many obvious jabs at this type are made. This film will only be an eye opener to someone who has been in a coma for the last few decades. The ending, where the lead character feels some moral responsibility toward his son is phony. The movie spends most of its running time showing us how utterly amoral the character is. Are we really supposed to believe that he suddenly feels remorse because of his son? More likely (and I know this type), he would keep his son in the dark about the true nature of his work. Katie Holmes looks horrible here. She can't act, has bad skin, and seems badly miscast as the "hot" reporter who seduces the handsome Eckhart (you would think that the gorgeous Eckhart would have women lined up but he seems so desperate that he has to settle for the odd looking Holmes).
Like watching a shark eat a school of hapless fish October 15, 2008
Schtinky (California)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
'Thank You For Smoking' is a satire/comedy of the industry of Big Tobacco. Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is the Vice President of the Academy of Tobacco Studies, and calls himself the Colonel Sanders of Nicotine. He's divorced, but stays very involved in Joey's (his twelve year old son) life. Joey (Cameron Bright - Running Scared, The Butterfly Effect) looks up to his father, often seeing him in a Godlike way.
Nick belongs to what they call the MOD Squad (Merchants Of Death). He and his two friends, Polly Bailey (Maria Bello - Secret Window) who works for the Moderation Council and is an alcoholic, and Bobby Jay Bliss (David Koechner) who works for SAFETY (The Society for the Advancement of Firearms and Effective Training for Youth), meet for lunch one a week and discuss the deaths related to their current jobs.
The movie begins with Nick appearing on the Joan Lunden show, against anti-tobacco groups and a young boy suffering from tobacco related cancer. Nick, the best of the spin-artists, walks away smelling like a rose. On his case over his defense of Big Tobacco is Senator Ortolan Finistirre (William H. Macy), who leads a sub-committee dedicated to labeling cigarettes with the skull and crossbones poison symbol.
Nick, while waiting for the sub-committee hearing, travels to see The Captain (Robert Duvall), head of the tobacco company and founder of Nick's employer. Nick's boss stole his idea to use Hollywood to promote tobacco (by getting stars to smoke on screen) and the Captain wants Nick to fly to California to get the ball rolling. Taking Joey along, Nick meets with Jeff Megall (Rob Lowe), a Hollywood super agent who heads up EGO (Entertainment Global Offices). (Jeff and the whole Hollywood scene is so over-the-top "typical" that it's hilarious) Jeff and Nick agree on 25 Million dollars to get Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta-Jones to smoke on screen after a futuristic $ex scene. (unbelievable!) While in California, he takes a huge money payoff to the original Marlboro Man Lorne Lutch (Sam Elliott) who's now dying of lung cancer. He also appears on the Dennis Miller show against Senator Finistirre, and receives a death threat from a caller.
Nick comments on his life as being the most hated person on Earth. It's pretty much true. He's kidnapped, stripped, covered in nicotine patches and left at the Lincoln statue. He almost dies and can never smoke again because of the overdose, but spins it into how cigarettes saved his life because a non-smoker would have died. The reporter he's dating, Heather, takes all their private pillow talks and publishes an extremely derogatory article about him. (You'll have to watch the movie to see how he pays her back) Nick has to balance his life between his moral-less job and being a father to his son. The things he teaches Joey aren't right or wrong but how to win, an approach Joey's mother disapproves of.
Whether you're a non-smoker or even a smoker, the actions of the Big Tobacco will make you red with fury. Eckhart plays a good role as Nick, totally unconcerned with his job as lobbyist for a known killer. (as expressed in the meetings of the MOD Squad) Though not based on a true story or even real statistical facts, the casual way Big Tobacco treats their "customer's" lives rings true. Adding in Polly and Bobby Ray as advocates of alcohol and firearms holds a certain irony to the film. Though the movie has a good premise (as far as satire goes) and an excellent cast who all perform well, it never quite advances itself into either comedy or drama. The pace is a little to slow, and the debates not long enough or heated enough. It's interesting enough if you want to watch a benignly evil man do his effort to spread poison, but not worthy of a purchase. Rent first. Enjoy!
Has its valid, amusing points but is ultimately a bit too callous June 30, 2008
J. SHARP (Alabama - United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I think the problem many people have with this film is that - unlike most moralizing Hollywood movies - it doesn't take a stand for or against smoking. While I think smoking is disgusting and practically crazy and I've lost count of the people I've known who died from it, I actually found this approach refreshing. It's essentially a cynical, amoral, libertarian satire on the American nanny state, corporate shills, and posturing politicians. In essence it boils down to this message: "Everyone's got a selfish reason for doing what they do and all information is skewed to the interests of the person providing it. Make up your own mind based on that. If you can."
Since I'm neither amoral or libertarian I was not thrilled with the main character (His motto: "If you argue correctly, then you're never wrong.") or with the way he indoctrinated his son into believing "doing what you do best" is one's highest calling - even if it's for a damnable cause. But his blunt honesty appealed to my cynical side and was often quite amusing.
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