Blog From The Bench

Thank You For Smoking
Director: Jason Reitman
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I shall be succinct: this will be one of the best films of 2006. Or 2005. Whenever it gets released. Mark my words.

Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) has one of the most hated jobs on the planet. He is a tobacco lobbyist in Washington and makes his fortune out-talking people on the benefits of smoking. He is deceptive, manipulative and worst of all, incredible at his job. It is this sense of satisfaction that keeps Nick coming back to work every day, despite the occasional pangs of guilt that plague his conscious. He is also trying to bridge a relationship with his estranged son, and his desire to be a solid role model begins to weight heavily on his shoulders.

Nick hands out with his fellow lobbyists from the alcohol and firearm industries and drink themselves silly nightly, arguing over whose products kill more people. Nick comes up with a plan to re-glamorize smoking to the youth market by paying movie studios to feature actors and actresses prominently smoking cigarettes in major films, like in the 1930s, and heads off to Hollywood to strike a deal. Meanwhile, an ambitious reporter (Katie Holmes) has her eyes on Nick in more ways than one. While Nick heads for a dramatic showdown with a Democratic Senator on the health hazards of smoking (William H. Macy), he receives a curveball for the first time in his profession – a death threat. And by the sounds of things, the caller is deadly serious!

Director Jason Reitman, teenage son of seasoned comedy director Ivan Reitman has written a fantastic adaptation from Christopher Buckley’s hilarious novel of the same name, has a masterful command of the camera and the comedic edit that belies his inexperience, and has assembled an impressive cast of performers for a first-time director: Aaron Eckhart, Sam Elliott, William H. Macy, Katie Holmes, Adam Brody, Rob Lowe, Robert Duvall, and more. This is a better group than most seasoned veterans are able to assemble.

The film literally had the audience howling with laughter, myself included. My sides still ache. Being familiar with the source material, I was pleased by how authentic the screenplay was to both the subject and tone of the novel, and amazed how every single joke landed with perfect execution. This kid has inherited his father’s touch for the funny, let me tell you. The film is as close to perfection as you can hope for a comedy in this day and age, a perfect blend between biting satire and old-fashioned sight gags, a harmonious blend of Daily Show sardonic wit and Arrested Development-style quirkiness. The film is visually striking, bright and vivacious, hilariously acted and… and…

On and on I could go. It gives me goose bumps just relieving it in my head. During the screening, Jason Reitman came out for the third consecutive sold-out showing of Thank You For Smoking dazed and overwhelmed, expressing his shocked disbelief that people like his film that much.

Oh, we did. And you will too.

Verdict: 97