Jason Reitman
Thank You For Smoking

Jason Reitman
Thank You For Smoking
Comedy, Satire
USA (2006)

Today I intend to draw attention to a good film from the very recent past. "Thank You For Smoking," by Jason Reitman, is the exaltation of oratory skills in a comedy-satire where morality, without mincing words, gets kicked to the curb. The protagonist of the work, one Nick Naylor (Aron Eckhart), embodies the ruthless contemporary society and is firmly convinced that being right is a secondary factor. What really matters in this Machiavellian world is that people believe what you say, and obviously, any means to achieve the end is permissible. Nick works at the Academy of Tobacco Studies, and his job is to convey to the general public (through press conferences and TV debates) the efforts that said research structure is making to empirically verify if smoking is truly harmful to health. Quite a tough task, especially considering that such studies are financially supported by the same tobacco lobbies. Yet Nick is a wizard and knows how to spin things masterfully, just like MJ knew how to score baskets. With his affable manner, his smooth talk, and his gestures, he can win over the audience even in the most unthinkable and seemingly hopeless situations.

Every week, mostly to stroke his ego, Nick meets with two other people who do his same job in the alcohol and weapons sectors. The three, without any shame or conscience, refer to themselves as "merchants of death" and almost compete with each other on which sector causes more victims. Nick wins this macabre match with 1200 "killers" a day in a scene shameless like few others, where morality gets buried. The three characters are indeed perfectly aware of the effects of their work, but they drink, smoke, and shoot over it with such irreverence that the only thing the audience can do is laugh, stunned. They know they are damn good at an almost impossible and elitist task and relish it quite a bit.

The film focuses on the figure of Nick as he deals with a Vermont senator (William H. Macy): a staunch non-smoker firmly determined to launch a campaign against cigarettes by imposing the skull and crossbones symbol on every single pack on the market. Nick is cornered and must tackle the problem. For a good part of the movie, our hero is accompanied by his 12-year-old son (Cameron Bright), who harbors enormous admiration for his father and would like to emulate him in his future work. Morality or no morality with the son? This is the dilemma for Nick. In my humble opinion, the story was weighed down by the addition of an unscrupulous journalist (Katie Holmes) eager for success and the forced encounter with the "Marlboro Man," sick with lung cancer and thirsting for revenge. All of this makes the film somewhat uneven: an excellent first half endowed with a compelling rhythm, (well-supported by rock-jazz music), is partly marred by the undoubtedly less inspired second half.

Thank You For Smoking talks about the tobacco industry, but one doesn't need to be a genius to understand that the message conveyed extends to every aspect of our life. In today's Western society, what indisputably matters is appearance, not truth. Jason Reitman tells us that if we can be disgustingly affable and forget we have a conscience, we can justify anything and succeed. However, interpreting this film solely in this way is limiting. The character of Nick Naylor also offers stimulating points. He is a charming bastard, that's indisputable, but he also invites us not to take everything we're told as absolute truth. Every thesis can be criticized and turned inside out like a sock. If you have the right to say something, you must give me the opportunity to dissent, and it's not certain that if I argue my point of view properly and intelligently, I might not only counter, but also succeed in convincing you...

A principle that is not always implemented even on this site, where insults sometimes prevail over arguments.