Director Jason Retiman’s new satire “Thank You for Smoking” made news in the gossip rags long before it was released in theaters due to Katie Holmes’ sex scene and Tom Crazy Cruise’s apparent meltdown over it – so even non-movie buffs may have already heard of this low budget movie despite the limited theatre release (no press is bad press and all…). Luckily for all this film is so sharp and funny on its own it doesn’t need the addition of Katie Holmes’ boobs to make it appealing (and for those inquiring minds – you don’t see them anyway).
Aaron Eckhart is stellar as Nick Naylor, a lobbyist for “Big Tobacco”. You know those guys with one of those jobs that you hear about and go “how does that person sleep at night”? That’s him. He knows it too, but doesn’t care – its his job to lay out the argument, and then watch you squirm as you find yourself going “…wait, he’s right….I know he’s wrong but he’s RIGHT…” Naylor is sent to Hollywood to try to get the sex appeal back into smoking by encouraging a hot Hollywood producer (Rob Lowe, who is hysterical doing a “VERY LA” persona) to include more on-screen smoking by big name stars. As his career picks up speed Naylor makes an effort to spend more time with his impressionable young son by bringing him along on meetings and - in his warped way – he manages to get in some parenting while juggling between meetings with Big Tobacco’s “Captain” (Robert Duvall) and sleeping with Heather Holloway (Holmes), a pretty young journalist digging for details about him. But the article Holloway ends up publishing gets Naylor into trouble even the King of Spin may not be able to talk his way out of…
The film is first and foremost a comedy. Its clearly a political piece but the director never strays away from the film’s sharp humor, and despite the serious subject matter Retiman makes sure that you can’t help but laugh out loud at not only the lines delivered, but ultimately at the ridiculousness of the politics behind some of the biggest decisions pending in Washington as we speak.
William H. Macy, Maria Bello, and Adam Brody round out the cast of this very funny film. Much recommended, “Thank You for Smoking” is open in limited release now.
