Thank You For Smoking (2005)

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Director

Jason Reitman

Country

USA

Cast

Aaron Eckhart, Cameron Bright, Katie Holmes, Maria Bello, David Koechner, William H. Macy, Robert Duvall, J.K. Simmons, Marianne Muellerleile, Kim Dickens, Rob Lowe, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Todd Louiso, Dennis Miller

Storyline

It follows Tobacco industry lobbyist Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) as he promotes smoking in a time when its health non-benefits are well known while trying to be a role model for his teenage son (Cameron Bright). 

Opinion

I saw Thank You For Smoking a long time ago and moreover, it was in Spanish - I don't know why but I saw it at Spanish class at high school. I didn't remember much of it so I figured it was time to rewatch it and now I'm not sure at the time I really understood what the movie is about.

Although it's the story of a Tobacco lobbyist and it revolves around him promoting smoking and talking a hell of a lot about this huge industry - and it's a pretty well-done and solid story -, Thank You For Smoking isn't really about smoking.

What the movie really does is glorify the art of talking by showing that you are never on the wrong side of an argument if you can support your facts or if you can prove the other person wrong - which is basically all Aaron Eckhart's character does in the movie and Eckhart gives such a great performance in this role, it makes me want to cry. 

Thank You For Smoking is also a quite wonderful satire of people and their(our) choices. Through its story, the film isn't either trying to convince people to smoke or to convince them not to smoke. All it does is asking us questions. Are we capable to choose what's best for us? Do we know/understand what the effects of our choices or actions may be? Shouldn't we be held responsible for our actions?

So kudos to Jason Reitman for being able to incorporate those questions into the movie without making it too heavy but still pretty light and enjoyable. The credits for that also go to some of the quite-exaggerated, caricature even, supporting characters, from Rob Lowe's  Hollywood producer to William H. Macy's Senator who fights against the Tobacco industry to Robert Duvall's Captain of the Tobacco industry.