Thank You For Smoking

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, David Koechner, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, J.K. Simmons, Robert Duvall
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2006

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is a corporate lobbyist for Big Tobacco. While he sells a product that kills hundreds of thousands of people a year, he is a professional talker- and never loses an argument. When he incurs the wrath of a Senator (William H. Macy) trying to prevent teen smoking, Nick faces his biggest challenge yet.

Review:

Tim: While Jason Reitman has given us some of the funniest, most emotional, most human movies in recent years, this earlier effort falls just short. I am not suggesting that Thank You For Smoking is not a good movie- it certainly is. However, it just felt like there was something a bit off. I was interested in the characters and story, but I was never invested in them. I laughed a few times, but not enough. This is an ambitious effort, and there were certainly sparks of Reitman's genius here, but it would take later films to fully reveal itself.

A movie about a Big Tobacco spokesman isn't the most conventional or easy to watch topic. However, with a well written script and some very good performances, it works. The very fact that this film is different and took chances is a welcome change from the typical, cookie cutter comedy. I loved that this movie was different, and chose to tell an intelligent but funny story. We need more of these movies in Hollywood.

Reitman assembles an impressive cast. Aaron Eckhart is quite good in the lead role as Nick Naylor. Eckhart gives a seemingly effortless performance (but forgive me if I couldn't help notice the subtle, underlying effort he put into making it seem that way). He is likeable, funny, has good comedic timing, and overall, was exactly the right actor for the role. I enjoyed him thoroughly in this film.

Maria Bello and David Koechner are fine, but I couldn't really get into either of their characters. Their presence on screen accounted for a few laughs, but mostly, they just disrupted the flow of the most interesting story. I didn't think Reitman used them as effectively as he should have. Cameron Bright is an intelligent young actor, but some of his acting here was suspect at best. I wish he was a little better of an actor. Adam Brody has just a short time on screen, but he delivers a funny and memorable performance. I appreciated that. Sam Elliott's mere presence in a movie makes he happy, but I wish he had more screen time. I also liked seeing Katie Holmes here, and I appreciated that she gave a different, more complex performance. I don't think she is a great actress, but she worked for me here. Rob Lowe was basically just playing himself, and although slick, I didn't really like him too much here. William H. Macy had a juicy, important role. It was nice to see him playing a fired up Senator, unafraid to use swear words to make his point. I love J.K. Simmons, and I love when he plays to his strength, as he does here. Robert Duvall's presence was a welcome one, but again, I wish he had more time to impact the movie. All in all, this huge, impressive cast is good, and one of the film's strengths.

However, I couldn't help but feel like this movie was a bit back-and-forth, feeling choppy and a bit disjointed. We have the main story of Nick and his battle for Big Tobacco. We also have these short scenes with Nick and the MOD Squad. Then, there are the scenes with Nick and his son. Each of these is woven together, but not as compactly as you would hope. It feels like we jump around back-and-forth, never really watching a cohesive story. It did not surprise me to learn that the movie departed from the book's storyline a bit. I haven't read the book, so I can't comment, but this might be part of the issue. This hurt the movie in my estimation- it is certainly good, but things like this prevent it from being better.

While somewhat flawed, Thank You For Smoking represents the type of comedy we need more of in Hollywood- an intelligent, thoughtful comedy that still entertains and makes the audience laugh. This is a good movie, and although it had the potential to be better, it is still a good example for Hollywood to follow. I enjoyed this film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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