Thank You For Smoking [2005]

---

---

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
As one of the funniest films released in 2006, Thank You for Smoking works precisely because it shouldn’t. Its protagonist is Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), a smooth-talking spokesman for the American tobacco industry, and therefore one of the 21st Century’s most demonised men. From his gelled hair to his perfect teeth, he’s all slick and smarmy charm, though crucially, it’s his self-awareness that keeps him from degenerating into a completely amoral character. Naylor genuinely loves his teenaged son, Joey (Cameron Bright), and he’s determined to be a good role model. However, that’s not such an easy feat when the press and a US Senator are baying for your blood, and your own best friends are the self-styled M.O.D. (Merchants of Death) Squad (one is a gun lobbyist, the other does the same for alcohol).

Thank You for Smoking is a satire, but director / screenwriter Jason Reitman is clever enough to play it straight. And the supporting cast are, as a whole, superb, from William H Macy’s liberal, headline-grabbing Senator to Katie Holmes’s two-faced journalist. But it’s Eckhart’s performance as the charismatic Nick Naylor that is so convincing. By the end of the film, he manages to build sympathy not just for himself, but for the American tobacco industry--and that’s no mean feat for Hollywood, particularly as non-smoking laws mean that, throughout the entirety of Thank You for Smoking, nobody is seen smoking a cigarette. --Ted Kord

---

Customer reviews

review by: dwoods92 date: 2008-08-28 rating:
Brilliant satire
Jason Reitman should be pleased as punch with his superb directorial debut about a spokesman working for the American tobacco industry. The script simply bursts with wit, rich dialogue and snappy satirical shifts and it is anchored by a fabulous performance from the excellent Aaron Eckhart as Nick Naylor, a disarming spin doctor who defends his amoral employers against the most damning of odds.

I hugely enjoyed this film and it is piercingly funny in places, often cutting quite close to the bone. As morally ambiguous as Naylor is, Eckhart plays him with such consummate charm that you almost find yourself cheering him on, as he campaigns for people's right to smoke (incidentally, the film has some very insightful things to say about free speech and our right to choose our paths in life that help you empathise with Naylor's cause). There are also delightful supporting roles for William H. Macy, J.K. Simmons, Rob Lowe and Adam Brody, though I felt Maria Bello was a little underused and Katie Holmes had a slightly one-dimensional role as a duplicitous journalist. Also, and this is a minor niggle, Reitman's direction, as polished as it was, did sometimes veer close to smugness, particularly when presenting Macy's liberalist senator in debate. But, with a script this good, the pace never slowed dramatically and, as I have to mention again, Eckhart was simply outstanding.

A fine satire on a contentious topic and, generally, a terrific film. Reitman has a bright future and I look forward to seeing more of his work.

---

review by: date: 2008-06-17 rating:
The Yuppie Nuremberg Defense
"I just need to pay the mortgage. Aside: The Yuppie Nuremberg Defense."
- Nick Naylor in Thank you for Smoking

Because of a fellow reviewer's comment, I decided to watch THANK YOU FOR SMOKING. Aaron Eckhart plays Nick Naylor who is a VP and "chief talking head" for the Academy of Tobacco Studies.

The Academy is supposed to research the link between nicotine and cancer. Who would have thought that they would never find any connection?

Nick gets himself into trouble with his "flexible morals" and his errant lobbying ways; but never loses the support of his young son Joey, played by Cameron Bright (despite what his ex wife calls his "dependency issues").

This is a great satirical piece; it was based upon a novel by Christopher Buckley and was the first full feature film directed by Jason Reitman (of Juno fame).

In terms of sensitivities, the film has little. This is not an endorsement of the cigarette industry; but it still does present a callous view of the deep sufferings of many (all caused by nicotine). If this does not hit close to home for you, the satire is well done and Naylor learns a lesson about the emancipation of those enslaved by nicotine himself in a not so presidential manner.

Nick swaps horses; but doesn't seem to have lost any of his stripes by the end of the flick. A very funny film about a not so funny addiction.

Recommended: B+ (A biting satirical study)

Bentley/2008

---

review by: Winklefizz date: 2007-12-04 rating:
High Quality satire
Thank You For Smoking isn't your usual desperate laugh-a-minute movie. It's reserved, intelligent and sometimes brutal. The humour here is dark and brooding, the kind of stuff you'll smile about in the moment, and laugh about later.

I think what I liked most about this film is the way it walks a very tight-line. I mean, it really does make you care about quite an arrogant, immoral jerk who doesn't seem to care about anyone beyond himself and his boy. This is purely because Eckhart's character is so damn likeable! He appeals to the rebel in everyone, and I know, at times in this movie, I sat there thinking, "damn, I wish I could be that f***ing cool all the time!"

The movie does a great job of exposing hypocrasy without resorting to clumsy preachiness, or leadin you by the hand. Does a great job of being funny without having to make you laugh all the time, and delivers one of the best bad-ass screen characters we've seen on film - who doesn't have to kick someone's ass every 15 minutes.

An under-rated movie, that definitely deserves your attention.

---

review by: date: 2007-11-05 rating:
Americans do understand satire after all
Wow, a genuinely funny satire. I honestly didn't think that any studio was interested in making films like this any more. Talented cast, excellent script, treats it's audience with a modicum of intelligence.

One of my favourite films of 2007. Watch it!


review by: Lady Aimie date: 2007-10-09 rating:
Pure unadulterated wit
In brief, The film follows the goings on of Nick Naylor, the spin doctor of big tobbaco as he argues and debates with anti smoking politicians and activists.

sounds dull right? wrong!

From the get go this film will captivate you and hold you undivided attention with its extraordinary wit and intellegent humour as a man of very flexible morals, teaches his son the art of argument and all without a single cast member smoking a ciggerette. Genius!

On the of chance that I need any more reitteration- watch this film, watch it right now!

---

Similar products

Little Miss Sunshine [2006]
An Inconvenient Truth [2006]
The Prestige [2006]
Volver (Almodovar) [2006]
Babel [2006]

---

Similar categories

Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Comedy . All Comedy
Video . DVD & VHS . Substores . Regular Stores . DVD Bargains . By Price . From £4.97 . DVDs from £4.97
Video . DVD & VHS . Substores . Regular Stores . DVD Bargains . All DVD Special Offers
Video . DVD & VHS . Substores . Regular Stores . Audio Description
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . DVD
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . BBFC Rating (intended_use_browse-bin) . 15
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Editions (feature_two_browse-bin) . Standard Edition
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Region(feature_browse-bin) . Region 2
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Release Date (feature_three_browse-bin) . 2000 and later
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Language (theme_browse-bin) . English

---