April 26, 2006 -- “Thank You for Smoking” is a delightful libertarian satire skewering America's puritanical “Big Brother” tendencies which can be summed up with one federal agency's acronym, ATF, alcohol, tobacco and firearms. I think that all three of these things need to be regulated to some extent, but sometimes we, as a people, tend to go overboard. Should cities have the right to ban smoking in all public places? Should television networks be banned from advertising cigarettes? Should the right to carry concealed guns be regulated by governments? Should open containers of alcohol be banned in all vehicles?

The answer to all of these questions depends on how much freedom you think people should have to make choices that could cause harm to themselves and others. “Thank You for Smoking” deals with one of these issues, smoking, in a straightforward way. Aaron Eckhart of “Possession” plays Nick Naylor, the best tobacco lobbyist in the business. Naylor appears on TV talk shows and testifies before Congress, arguing that smoking tobacco is a personal choice which should be unregulated. One of his main opponents is Senator Ortolan K. Finistirre (played by William H. Macy of “The Cooler”), who is determined to put a large poison label on every pack of cigarettes.

Naylor is cruising along in his high-powered career, a favorite of tobacco king Doak “The Captain” Boykin (Robert Duvall of “Secondhand Lions”). He even rides in a private jet, dubbed “Tobacco One.” Then, he runs across a very pretty young newspaper reporter, Heather Holloway (Katie Holmes of “Batman Begins”) and he suddenly falls from grace. Naylor has always been able to talk himself out of trouble, but this time, he seems trapped by his own words.

This film, written and directed by Jason Reitman, is based on a novel by Christopher Buckley, son of noted conservative William F. Buckley. It is refreshingly irreverent and briskly comic. The dialogue sparkles and the perfectly-cast Eckhart carries the film smoothly. He is ably assisted by a sterling supporting cast, including J.K. Simmons of “Spider-Man,” Rob Lowe of “Austin Powers in Goldmember” and Sam Elliott of “We Were Soldiers” (who plays the Marlboro Man). Of special note are the other two members of the “MOD Squad” (stands for Merchants of Destruction), Maria Bello of “A History of Violence” (alcohol lobbyist) and David Koechner of “Yours, Mine and Ours” (gun lobbyist).

Unfortunately, this is one of those films that is not widely distributed and did not make much money at the box office, so catch it quick before it goes away. The best comedies are often satirical in nature, but satire doesn't sell well. Most people just don't get it, I suppose. Maybe they take it too literally. Such was the case with Jonathan Swift who created a firestorm of controversy with his “Modest Proposal.” Perhaps things have changed little in the hundreds of years since then. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2006 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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