Movie Review:
Thank You for Smoking

Director: Jason Reitman
Production Company : Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, David Koechner, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, J.K. Simmons, Robert Duvall
Rating: Rated R for language and adult situations

By Gregg Tubbs

(UMC.org)—They say “talk is cheap,” but the smart, funny satire Thank You for Smoking illustrates that talk can also be very profitable—if you’re good enough at it and open to the highest bidder. When consummate spin-doctor Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) talks on behalf of Big Tobacco, people light up. It’s been a while since I’ve heard a theatre full of grown-ups laugh so hard and often. Part of what makes Thank You for Smoking so perversely fascinating is that you get the sneaking suspicion that you’re laughing at things you really shouldn’t, or realize that you’re laughing at a reflection of yourself. This comedy of twisted logic targets our confused culture of spin and sound bites, taking aim at our penchant for telling half-truths and persuasive lies in the service of profit and power.

When Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), a Washington lobbyist for Big Tobacco and consummate spin-doctor talks; people light up. Copyright © 2006 Fox Searchlight Pictures

Based on the novel by Christopher Buckley, Thank You for Smoking introduces us to the world of corporate lobbyists. Naylor is a silver-tongued devil who can go into his son’s classroom on “career day” and convince them that the point is not whether smoking is harmful, but whether the right to smoke is an issue of almost patriotic importance. Naylor’s friends are a pair of lobbyists (Maria Bello and David Koechner) who represent alcohol and firearms. The three call themselves the “MOD Squad,” short for “Merchants of Death,” and almost as a point of pride, brag about how many deaths the products they so expertly promote and defend are responsible for every year.

Frustrated by a decline in cigarette sales, Naylor’s boss bellows, “We sell cigarettes. They’re cool, available and addictive. The job is almost done for us!” To boost sales and market the “coolness” of smoking, Naylor is sent to Hollywood to meet with a powerful talent agent (Rob Lowe) and work out a scheme to promote the glamour of smoking in the movies. The skewed world of the lobbyist collides with the nearly surreal world of Hollywood deal making and the results are as hilarious as they are depressingly cynical.

Naylor’s friends are a pair of lobbyists (MARIA BELLO and DAVID KOECHNER) who represent alcohol and firearms. The three call themselves the “MOD Squad,” short for “Merchants of Death.” Copyright © 2006 Fox Searchlight Pictures

Along they way, Naylor meets the original Marlboro Man (Sam Elliot); fends off media attacks by a self-righteous Senator (William H. Macy); and cavorts—both in and out of bed—with a backstabbing reporter (Katie Holmes) whose betrayal and exposé of Nick puts his career and personal life on the skids. Naylor attempts to justify his work saying, “Ninety percent of what people do, they do just to pay the mortgage;” yet he also wrestles with feelings of regret. People have been hurt, and most troubling, his son’s moral compass has been thrown off kilter. But there is no redemption for Nick—only the resignation that fast talk and telling a convincing lie are his true gifts, and that if he didn’t cash in, someone else would.

Thank You for Smoking confronts some of the most basic issues of morality. Naylor himself admits early in the film that he has a “certain moral flexibility” that makes him perfect for this kind of work. He lives by the credos that “you’re never wrong as long as you argue your point right,” and that “you don’t have to prove that you’re right, just that the other guy is wrong.” Lying for profit, the proverbial “bearing false witness,” tops the list of moral issues. Greed, self-interest at the expense of others, and the hypocrisy of the self-righteous are not far behind.

Naylor (AARON ECKHART) is sent to Hollywood to meet with a powerful talent agent (ROB LOWE) to work out a scheme for promoting the glamour of smoking in movies. Copyright © 2006 Fox Searchlight Pictures

Reminiscent of Dr. Strangelove, or How I Stopped Worrying and Love the Bomb, Thank You for Smoking may revel in characters who abandon moral responsibility, but its underlying effect is to lay their amorality bare. Even as we laugh at it, we shake our heads at the audacity and shiftlessness of the characters. But though we may shake our heads in disapproval, it’s never in disbelief because we all know someone a little like Nick Naylor—someone who treats the truth like clay, to be molded to his or her needs, and offered to the highest bidder.

Gregg Tubbs is a freelance writer living in Columbia, Md.

This review was developed by UMC.org, the official online ministry of The United Methodist Church.

Group Study Guide

Study Questions

• What was your first impression of Nick Naylor? How did you feel after the opening scene on the talk show?
• Did this film have a “hero”? Could that be Nick? The Captain? The Senator? The reporter? In what ways did they all fall short of truly being the “good” character in this story?
• The film gives the impression that Nick’s influence on his son was not negative. Do you agree? Why or why not?
• In what ways was the Senator a hypocrite?
• Nick’s job was a lobbyist, but how would you describe what he did for a living? Was he a defender of the right to choose or a professional deceiver and liar?
• Were you surprised that Heather, the reporter, betrayed Nick?
• Nick justified what he did as a way to “pay the rent.” Did you think that was honest? What things would you do, or not do, to “pay the rent?”
• Do you think the Bible charges us to be truthful? What does truth telling require?
• Did your feelings change towards Nick by the end of the film? Did he change?
• Were you satisfied with the ending of the film or would you have preferred a more ethically satisfying ending?

Group Activities

Spin the Truth: Nick and the other MOD Squad members were masters of the art of distorting facts, manipulating arguments and lying outright to promote the interests of their clients. Nick suggests that his job required a certain “moral flexibility” to argue in favor of potentially harmful things like tobacco and alcohol. For this activity, ask volunteers to play the role of “spin doctors.” Each volunteer must pick a product or activity that he or she is morally opposed to and argue in favor of it in front of the group, just as Nick did at his son’s school. Tell them not to hold back. They can twist the facts, lie or manipulate both patriotic and religious feelings in order to make their case. Once a few members of your group have “lobbied,” discuss the experience. How did the spin-doctors feel having to advocate for something they didn’t believe in? How did the rest of the group feel? Did they feel deceived? Did any feel swayed? Ask the group to identify current situations and places where do they see the effects of “spin” in daily life.

Truth and Consequences : Nick and his friends refused to admit the consequences of their lobbying, even bragging about how many people their products killed. But all actions, including untruthfulness and deceit, have consequences. Ask each member of your group to list five places or relationships where truthfulness is important and deceit has serious consequences. Possibilities might be:

o At work or school
o Between a parent and child
o Between spouses
o In politics
o With law enforcement
o Between pastor and parishioners
o You and God

Complete your lists and share them. What appeared on several lists? What was unique? Discuss who is hurt when trust is violated in these situations. Is a lie OK even if no one is hurt? How is God affected when you lie?

GOD Squad: Break your group into small 2-3 person squads that promote godliness and truthfulness rather than lying for profit. Ask each team to select a name (like “GOD Squad”) and a favorite Bible verse about truth. One good source for aphorisms about truth and lies is the book of Proverbs. When teams are finished, ask each team to share its name and verse with the group. Finally, discuss what Nick said to his son, “You are never wrong if you argue your point right.” What does your faith teach you about a statement like that? Is it true or is it a lie?

Resources
Official Thank You for Smoking Web site
Novelist Buckley: Smoking Out the Self-Righteous

Theatrical Trailer
QuickTime