Thank You For Smoking

Overview: Nick Nayler played by Aaron Eckhart is a lobbyist for the Tobbaco company who wants to take back the industry from the do-gooders (played by William H. Macy) by getting more cigarettes into the hands of children and teenagers, preferably by working with Hollywood to get smokes into films. Much of the film is a reflection of how Nayler faces opposition against his “morally flexible” stance on selling cigarettes. Nayler’s son, a product of a broken home, wants to learn what his dad does and why everyone hates him so much…so Nayler takes him along for the journey, from taking part in bribes to point blank escapades.


The Good: What satire!!! And what a cast. Rob Lowe plays the head honcho of a consulting firm, “EGO” (haha) who has a weird obsession with anything Asian. Katie Holmes is a reporter who will go to any lengths to get a story and she does a pretty good job. Robert Duvall is the “captain” of the industry who supplies money to Nayler to further the smoking cause. I could go on but really…the cast was awesome. Not to give away too much, but I really loved how these anti-heroes did not feel it necessary to change their views to be politically correct. It was real and I appreciated it. (Especially the Merchants of Death. Haha!)

The Bad: Nothing. It was a light hearted laugh and I really enjoyed it.

Recommendation: Definitely go watch it. Unless you have lung cancer or know someone who died from it, or got fat from cheese or got shot or alcohol poisoning, I could see why you wouldn’t think it’s funny. Sorry.