Thank You For Smoking

This is one beautiful crisp satire, which may even make you wanna jump in your pants. And most importantly the movie doesn't take any sides, its up to you to decide whether you wanna make a pyramid out of the cancer sticks or just light them up. The writers are the absolute masters here, who rule from the word go. And then the actors deliver those incredible in-the-face punches. Aaron Eckhart plays Nick Naylor who is a powerful speaker and gets paid for talking and "spinning off" the arguments. In his own words " Not many know what it is to be truly despised" but he always has the formula and the correct tone that manages to buy his way out. He talks smoothly and regards himself the as "Colonel Sanders" of Nicotine. Together he completes the coterie called "MOD" or merchants of death which consists of guys like him, defending guns and alcohol. The MOD meetings are to be construed as refreshing gatherings for generation of new counterpoints and to reflect on the musings of health zealots. Nick Nalyor speaks for an organization called the Academy of Tobacco Studies - the main tobacco lobby of the Big Tobacco in Washington. In order to put brakes on the widespread increase in smoking among teens, a Vermont senator (William Macy) is planning to unleash a sort of hate campaign against cigarettes by embossing skulls and bones on the cigarette packets. Nick suggests a counter action by asking the tobacco inc. to rope in Hollywood in promoting cigarettes in a cool way. Rob Lowe's cameo is explosive as an entertainment executive who suggests Nick a neat scene where Brad Pitt would blow smoke rings after a "cosmic fuck" with Catherine zeta Jones. The man impresses Nick Naylor to the point that he considers him to be someone "who could teach me so much"! All the while Nick's son Joey, who considers Nick to be some one of a kind, follows him and tries to understand the man's psyche. Nick is a caring father, and loves to pass on his wisdom, explaining differences between negotiations and arguments and why he does what he does after all. Katie Holmes is convincing as a sleazy reporter who would not hesitate to copulate for a little inside information. She fulfills the emptiness in Nick's life and gives her the warmth he needs, albeit little does he know as to how fake it is. Towards the end, Nick confronts an ordeal as he is attacked by angry hooligans, and faces the ultimate challenge of rescuing his job and life when the opportunist reporter spills the beans on their bedtime stories. But more than anything else Nick wants to win the courtroom battle for his son. The climax is just as beautifully orchestrated and commanded by Nick as he does in the beginning defending himself on a certain Joan's show. The movie goes right up on the top of my book, it is wonderful, hilarious, intelligent and kicks ass. To close, I would quote Nick again "Micheal Jordan plays ball, Charles Manson kills people, I talk."