Thank You for Smoking Review
by [email protected] (johnny_betts AT hotmail DOT com)April 7th, 2006
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Thank You for Smoking
http://www.themoviemark.com/moviereviews/thankyouforsmoking.asp
PLOT
Aaron "Butt Chin" Eckhart is a tobacco lobbyist who is trying to be a positive role model for his son while fending off attacks from people with their own agendas who hate the product he's spinning. A clever and funny political satire ensues.
JOHNNY'S TAKE
If you like your laughs to come at the expense of smart and clever writing then you obviously like Johnny Betts' work, but there's also a better-than-average chance you'll enjoy Thank You for Smoking.
I know what you're thinking: "Hey! Is this one of those propaganda pieces that does nothing but preach against the evils of tobacco?" No, actually, it isn't. Sure, it has some fun at the expense of Eckhart's tobacco lobbyist character, but reporters, Hollywood, and hypocritical politicians with their own agendas all get a little lampooning as well. It's a film that never really narrows its target on one group. And why should it when it can have more fun lambasting all sides?
What makes the movie really work is the running storyline of how William H. Macy wants to put a big picture of a skull and crossbones on cigarette boxes. He brings in a doctor to testify that people have an 80% greater response rate to imagery than they do text. I like how statistics such as this are cleverly employed in a way that educates and entertains at the same time; never making us feel like we're sitting in a boring college lecture.
A member from the Hispanic community also complains that many Mexicans can't read English; therefore, pictures are needed to warn them of the dangers of smoking. Not satisfied with this level of irresponsibility he's already showing, Mr. Hispanic makes the bold, and ridiculous, claim that "they" want people who can't speak English to die.
Eckhart, on the other hand, wonders why we don't just slap a warning label on everything that can cause death. How about Michigan propose a skull and crossbones picture for their cars? And how can Macy, Senator from Vermont that he is, not take responsibility for the fact that his state is proud of their cheddar, which also leads to high cholesterol which leads to heart disease which is, yep, you guessed it - the #1 killer in America? This exchange leads to the great, yet most likely unappreciated line, "The great state of Vermont will not apologize for its cheese!"
Eckhart also takes it to Macy on the Dennis Miller show. How can he advocate slashing and burning tobacco farms one morning and then later that afternoon ride around on a tractor and bemoan the plight of the American farmer? It doesn't take a Johnny Betts to realize this is a film interested in reminding us all to check just how brightly our halo is shining before we selfishly go about fulfilling our own agendas at the expense of criticizing others.
According to Eckhart, we're living in a world where 99% of everything that is done, good or bad, is done to pay the mortgage, (Ms. Cali: as anyone who has ever gone to a thankless job that they hate, day after day, knows). Thank You for Smoking gives us the opportunity to watch this play out. In a country being overrun with political correctness and the extreme lack of desire to take personal responsibility, this is a sharp political satire that is written to appeal to adults, a rarity these days, and simply wants to state that education comes from teachers and parents, not the side of a cigarette carton.
THE GIST
Thank You for Smoking is a rare brand of smart, adult humor for those of you who want to laugh but know The Benchwarmers and Phat Girlz won't come close to doing the trick. If you like your comedy a little dark and wry then give this a look.
Rating: 4 (out of 5)
Johnny Betts
The Movie Mark
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