Thank You for Smoking

I enjoyed the heck out of THANK YOU FOR SMOKING.

TYFS puts its message right out there, but don't see it for the message. See it for the delivery. The movie follows Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), a smoking lobbyist who's so darned good at his job that he can't help but love it. Nick's the kind of guy who can appear on a talk show loaded with anti-smoking spokespeople and utterly blow them away. He's morally flexible, incredibly cunning, possibly evil, and so much fun to watch that the movie's 90-minute run time races by.

The movie maintains a satiric distance, but it holds true to its universe (and its protagonist's questionable worldview) throughout. By not winking at the joke, it builds both comedically and dramatically, with a conclusion that's amusing, satisfying, and arguable.

You may or may not agree with the politics or science of the film (Offshore oil drilling is morally equivalent to clubbing baby seals? Cell phones cause brain cancer?), but you can enjoy funny, well made satire no matter your predilictions. TYFS is just that, and it's a lot of fun.

Enjoy.