If you prefer your comedy on the dark side, then Thank You for Smoking, written
and directed by Jason Reitman, is just what the surgeon general ordered.
Dripping with sarcasm, this sharply written adaptation of the Christopher
Buckley novel gleefully portrays gun, tobacco, and alcohol lobbyists at
their worst. As they line their pockets, these merchants of death falsely
justify every factoid that comes from their mouths, willfully oblivious to
the harm they’re causing. Reitman takes an interesting approach in
exposing these people, presenting them as intelligent but deluded and
giving them an air of tragedy, and the film assumes a lighthearted
satirical tone as it delivers its deadly serious message.
Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) proudly informs us that
he’s paid to talk; as he does so, Reitman uses the sound of
machine-gun fire to underscore just how deadly his rhetoric is. The tobacco
industry, which he defends under the guise of a representative for the
Academy of Tobacco Studies, is responsible for the deaths of 1,200 people a
day. Naylor crows about this figure in front of his allies and rivals Bobby
Jay Bliss (David Koechner), lobbyist for the National Rifle Association,
and Polly Bailey (Maria Bello), spokeswoman for the alcohol industry. The
three meet regularly to complain about the difficulty of their jobs and to
swap stories about how they’ve pulled the wool over the eyes of the
American people. However, they’ve all gotten a bit too big for
their britches, and U.S. Sen. Ortolan K. Finistirre (William H. Macy) is
out to pick them off, with Naylor his first target. Even more dangerous is
Heather Holloway (Katie Holmes), a tenacious reporter, out to do an
exposé on Naylor. She’s far more persuasive than her
schoolgirl appearance might lead one to believe. Naylor, on his way to
Hollywood to persuade the suits in Tinseltown to promote smoking in their
films, is particularly vulnerable because he’s flying high, having
won an audience with the king of tobacco, the Captain (Robert Duvall), and
gaining ground with his son, Joey (Cameron Bright), who has been distant
since his parents split up. Taking the boy seems like a good idea to Nick,
but seeing his old man in action has a sobering effect on young Joey. What’s so remarkable about Smoking is that Reitman is able to
present such a cynical look at the world and do so with a smile, albeit a
toxic one. Every character we meet is a bullshit artist, devoid of morality
or conscience. Naylor’s tragedy is that he’s succumbed to his
own line of faulty logic — and Joey seems doomed to grow up to be
just like his father. To its credit, the film doesn’t go soft at the
end. Had this been a true Hollywood production, Naylor would have seen the
error of his ways and turned over a new leaf, but that doesn’t happen
here. The Benchwarmers [PG-13]
A trio of middle-aged has-beens form a baseball team to compete against
area Little League teams in a feeble attempt to gain some dignity. ShowPlace West, ShowPlace East
Failure to Launch [PG-13]
When Tripp, a 30-something slouch, won’t move out of the house, his
mother calls in a big gun: his dream woman. ShowPlace
West, ShowPlace East, Route 66 Drive-In
Ice Age: The Meltdown [PG]
The Ice Age is officially over and Diego, Manny and Sid play Paul Revere to
alert the others before the ice melts and the valley is destroyed. ShowPlace West, ShowPlace East
Inside Man [R] Hostage
negotiator Keith Frazier finds himself in a match of wits with a bank
robber, but quickly realizes the heist isn’t exactly what it seems to
be. ShowPlace West, ShowPlace East
Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector [PG-13] Larry, a jovial health inspector, spends his days
checking hole-in-the-wall diners for code violations — that is, until
he gets a new partner and a high-profile food poisoning case at a series of
upscale eateries. ShowPlace East
Lucky Number Slevin [R]
Slevin finds himself in Mafia crossfire when two dangerous crime bosses,
the Boss and the Rabbi, mistake his identity. Lucky he is not. ShowPlace West
Phat Girlz [PG-13]
Fashion designer Jazmin Biltmore and her two full-figure model friends
stumble upon a couple of men who value a bigger figure in our
weight-obsessed culture. ShowPlace East
Scary Movie 4 [PG-13]
The spoof franchise goes in to overdrive for a tiresome fourth film poking
fun at the horror genre. ShowPlace West,
ShowPlace East
Take the Lead [PG-13]
Ballroom dancer Pierre Dulane takes on a bunch of New York City school
kids, and when the footwork of ballroom and hip-hop collide, a new style is
born. ShowPlace West
V for Vendetta [R] In a
corrupt Britain, a terrorist makes it his mission to blow up Parliament. ShowPlace West
The Wild [G] A young
lion departs from New York Zoo for the vast lands of Africa leaving behind
a few friends who are determined to get him back. ShowPlace West, ShowPlace East
This article appears in Apr 13-19, 2006.
