Thank You for Smoking

Very funny and imaginatively directed in places, especially in the opening, when we are introduced to lobbyist Nick Naylor (the utterly brilliant Aaron Eckhart) as the "embodiment of cigarettes" in an irresistibly black and humourless sequence that approximates the number of victims of tobacco addiction. Guaranteed to amuse, too, are the apt observations about the now-fashionable curses on smoking in contemporary Hollywood ("These days, when someone smokes in the movies, they're either a psychopath... or a European."). Even at the very end, Reitman elegantly gets away with moralising that smoking may be "bad", but it is up to each of us to choose. But still, in the end, only 3 stars, albeit very strong. Despite a promising start in the opening 20 minutes, the film has too many deaf spots and unfinished scenes, which is a shame, because such a hot topic is ripe for a complete explosion of politically incorrect, sarcastic humour, of which there is woefully little. Still, the "Ghostbuster" can be proud of his son, I think there is a great talent growing here. (09/30/2006)

The phenomenal Aaron Eckhart could even make you think that smoking cigarettes is actually a healthy thing. Unfortunately, director Reitman spends the entire ninety minutes flitting between the political correctness of a hot topic and a family melodrama about model fatherhood. If it had thirty extra minutes and a more integral directorial lead who could have been more "loose" would have only helped the film. Then it would have been an absolute hit. Andrew Niccol poked at a similar theme much more vigorously, boldly, and, above all, engagingly. It’s not at all bad for a debut and the promising signs of interesting talent are definitely there. Keep it up! (02/04/2007)

Although I understand that cigarettes are not good for your health (I have always been a non-smoker, which doesn’t really help me much), but I am strongly annoyed by the sometimes hysterical reactions to smokers. What annoys me more than cigarette smoke in restaurants is the foul smell coming from the baby-changing table. In other words, if you want your children to be healthy, learn to cook instead of dragging your kids around pubs. Even in this film, I was forced to side with the bullied, which Nick Naylor made much easier for me thanks to his perfectly cynical attitude. His colleagues from the MOD squad did not fall behind. Nick went against the mainstream and didn't give up in spite of a potential melodramatic ending, and I must give him credit for that. (04/18/2020)

The Lord of War, but this time about cigarettes. Personally, I don't smoke and I don’t like it: it makes my eyes sting and makes me cough. Still, I laughed at how easily Nick convinces everyone about “freedom of choice", mentioning only the pros of the so-called coffin nails. Moreover, Eckhart’s performance is excellent, and he's such a nice guy that you'll forgive him for everything (even the fact that he gets involved with Katie Holmes) and Cameron Bright pulled off a younger version of him to a T as well. P.S.: Did you notice that no one smokes during the movie? (08/21/2008)

Finally a film that has some class. It's full of intelligent arguments and quality jokes from the start. Aaron Eckhart is unflappable and handles his role with aplomb. He didn't convince me to smoke, but I found his performance very likeable. The second half of the film is a little weaker, but still deserves a full rating. (05/01/2011)