Nick Naylor is a winning guy. With a charming smile and an honest face, he could be the mayor of a small town, the principal of an elementary school or an actor in a toothpaste commercial.
Instead, Nick has one of the most loathed jobs in the world. He's the spokesperson for Big Tobacco.
Nick (Aaron Eckhart) shamelessly refutes scientific evidence, common knowledge and a young boy dying of lung cancer in Thank You For Smoking, director and screenwriter Jason Reitman's adaptation of the satiric Christopher Buckley novel of the same name. Branded with such endearments as a "yuppie Mephistopheles," Eckhart's blissfully untroubled Nick doesn't bother with questions of moral responsibility; he's all about "freedom of choice." When visiting his son, Joey's (Cameron Bright), class for a "What do your parents do?" talk, Nick charismatically berates a young girl whose mother told her smoking was bad, and he vigorously encourages the elementary school-aged kids to question authority and try everything for themselves before he is shooed out of the classroom.
Together, Nick, Polly Bailey (Maria Bello) and Bobby Jay Bliss (David Koechner) make up the M.O.D. Squad, the Merchants Of Death. Polly represents alcohol, and Bobby is the firearm industry's flack. In their weekly meetings, they gripe about obstacles to peddling deadly substances -- a 20/20 special on fetal alcohol syndrome vexes Polly to no end -- and, in one hilarious conversation, they argue over who is most likely to be the target of a terrorist assassination based on the relative death rates of their products. Nick wins, but seeing the dejected looks on his friends' faces, quickly assures them that terrorists probably hate them a fair amount, too.
Problems arise for Nick when a zealous senator from Vermont (William H. Macy) gets the idea to brand cigarette boxes with a skull and crossbones symbol and the word "POISON" across the front. Completely unfazed, and even surprised at such a strong reaction to cigarettes, Nick agrees to take on the senator, the press and the one reporter in particular (Katie Holmes) out to ruin him. Macy stands out as the stuttering, self-righteous statesman, delivering with haughty indignation lines like, "The great state of Vermont will not apologize for its cheese."
But the underlying conflict of the film is between Nick and his son, Nick isn't as concerned with teaching Joey right from wrong as he is with teaching him how and why he does his job. Not only does he not apologize for what he does, Nick actually enjoys defending corporations that have no positive aspects.
Eckhart is perfect as Nick: morally repugnant but unfailingly likeable, he always has the perfect argument ready -- and, as he says, "If you argue correctly, you're never wrong." The O.C.'s Adam Brody makes an appearance as the assistant of Hollywood superagent Jeff Megall (Rob Lowe), reprising the neurotic, oblivious, adolescent-humor-loving nerd role he seems incapable of escaping.
Thank You For Smoking successfully satirizes politics and, more importantly, the political process. Neither Nick nor the senator is particularly concerned with what they're spinning so long as it's spun well. Macy's congressman drags out a ridiculous list of experts and concerned citizens to support his bill -- one, in favor of the symbol warning as opposed to the traditional paragraph from the surgeon general, claims that the government's use of English in the warnings demonstrates its hatred for Spanish-speaking citizens. The senator strains to show genuine concern for these people while privately recognizing their absurdity.
For all of the devilish charm of Thank You For Smoking, the movie is ultimately blunted by a disappointing moral turn. But in spite of that one flaw, its devil-may-care attitude and light, well-delivered performances make it a must-see for anyone who has ever sensed just how ludicrous our political system can be.
