Thank You For Smoking

When I was just out of college, I worked for 18 months or so in a congressional office in Washington, DC, and was able to get a good first-hand look at how politics work in America.  One of the more interesting aspects is how lobbyists shower members of Congress with attention and favors, such as tickets to Redskins or Orioles games, in exchange for legislative assistance on matters important to their cause. 

For instance, I went to an Orioles game once, courtesy of the Tobacco Institute, the association of cigarette manufacturers that lobbies for all things pro-smoking.  Not too long after that, the Congressman I worked for was scheduled to ask questions at a hearing on outlawing smoking on commercial airline flights.  The witness was a representative from the Tobacco Institute, and because of that, it came as a shock (but shouldn't have, in retrospect) that the questions my boss asked were carefully worded softballs that had been written out and faxed to our office by--you guessed--the Tobacco Institute.

That was a real lesson for me, but pales in comparison to the actions of Nick Naylor, the chief lobbyist for the fictionally equivalent Academy of Tobacco Studies in "Thank You For Smoking".  Nick is the boldest, brashest, most despicable kind of guy you could imagine, and yet, you really root for the guy.  As he explains to his pre-teen son, the trick to winning an argument is to sidestep.  The reason chocolate ice cream isn't better than vanilla, he goes on to explain, is that the freedom to be able to choose any flavor you want is even better.  And so it goes.

"Thank You for Smoking" takes us on a delightfully wicked and sharp satirical journey through the life of one of the sleaziest professions in Washington: the paid spin-meister.  And Aaron Eckhardt was simply born to play this role.  Rob Lowe should win an Oscar for best minor featured role for his turn as a Hollywood superagent whom Nick approaches for some strategic product placement help to boost Big Tobacco's image among consumers.

Thanks to a deft adaptation of Christopher Buckley's novel, writer and director Jason Reitman's debut feature film sails along smoothly and effortlessly, never bogging down, but being careful to allow some breathing room in just the right places.

The pic does not attempt to make serious points about the dangers of tobacco or the evil of tobacco lobbyists, and it will certainly not get an Oscar nod for Best Picture (though it is far better than some of last year's nominees).  But taken in the context of its realm--the political satire--"Thank You for Smoking" is really as good as it gets.