The Big Whinge

Thank You For Smoking

Despise Big Tobacco?

Detest corporate bullshit and spin?

You may just switch sides once you see Thank You For Smoking. In a year littered with dross such as Pirates of the Caribbean II, this is the best film I have seen so far.

The much-maligned art of spin is a craft...a rare skill to be admired. Aaron Eckhart (Possession) plays Nick Naylor, a Big Tobacco lobbyist. Naylor is charged with putting out the flames of bad publicity for his Big Tobacco employer. This ranges from stopping a bill that mandates anti-smoking messages on cigarette packets to silencing a Big Tobacco plaintiff.

Eckhart's Naylor charms the pants off the audience in his quest to thwart the do-gooders by masterfully turning their arguments against themselves. His posse of peers in dispensing spin are wittily played by Maria Bello and David Koechner who represent the MOD squad - the Merchants of Death. William H Macy, Sam Elliot, Adam Brody (yes the twerp from The OC is surprisingly palatable) and Rob Lowe (has someone been to the plastic surgeon?) round off a talented cast who deliver a delicious glimpse at the PR underbelly.

Except for Katie Holmes...well no wonder she struck the deal with Tom Cruise to have this child. Dawson's Creek may well have been her peak.

posted by Yarravillean @ 10:40 pm