Thank You For Smoking (2005)

Written and Directed by Jason Reitman

Aaron Eckhart, Cameron Bright, JK Simmons, William H Macy, Robert Duvall, Maria Bello, David Koechner, Kim Dickens, Katie Holmes, Rob Lowe, Adam Brody, Sam Elliot.

Nick Nolan (Eckhart) is a spokesperson for big tobacco, and VP of tobacco lobby group called Academy of Tobacco Studies. His main job is to downplay talk that tobacco smoking and the illnesses that it causes are linked.

His boss BR (Simmons) is trying to find solutions to dwindling sales, and Nick might have a winning idea. Meanwhile, conservative senator Macy wants to label all cigarette packs with a warning label, and Nick is the primary opponent.

Very well written and directed black comedy with a massive cast talent, who each have their own integral role to play in Nick’s time in the spotlight. They each play to their strengths well, from the perverse gun lobbyist played by Koechner, the slightly odd Hollywood agent that Nick tries to persuade to put cigarettes back into movies to improve sales.

Some of the stronger supporting cast are a little underused, like Elliot. I did find that some of the female characters were a little poorly written, and also under developed and underused.

There is a mid second arc moment in the film that is a little aloof, that really adds nothing to the overall plot of the film. There is also a bit of expositional narration in the first act that allows us to know who each of the characters are, it can be a bit grating after a little while.

I still think this is uniquely funny, and the main selling point is Eckhart who plays the effortlessly confident Nick. If you are a fan of black comedies, then I would definitely give this a watch.

3.5/5