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A+ |
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A+ |
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A+ |
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Thank You For Satarizing
by Eric (movies profile)
Oct 2, 2007
10
of
10 people found this review helpful
Satire is a very difficult trick to pull off, even in the worst examples. There's a fine line between seriousness and slapstick, leaving satire with the craziest of high-wire acts to pull off. Last week, I saw Inside Man, Spike Lee's satire under the disguise of a thriller. It was done pretty good, if a little forced in areas. Now comes Thank You For Smoking, a pitch-perfect example of how to pull off the impossible, not to mention looking good while doing it.
Thank You follows Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), lobbyist and spin-doctor for big tobacco whose degree is in "kicking butt and taking names". When we first meet him, he's on a daytime talk show with Joan Lunden and a teenager that the movie less than casually proclaims "Cancer Boy". But then, that's how Nick sees him. He doesn't really see people, but demographics. He's not really a monster who is getting paid to kill people because in his mind, they used the products of their own free will and there absolves him from the guilt of spinning the stories. He is on the verge of all-time success with his company. He is starting to make some bonds with his son (Cameron Bright). He's even getting Hollywood to start smoking again. But the likes of an overzealous senator from Vermont (William H. Macy) and a sultry young reporter (Katie Holmes) just might be his undoing. The story isn't so much following a formula but is opening doors to larger rooms and larger moral questions.
It's interesting to see how characters with moral flexability make for interesting vehicles for topics of morality. With Nick, we see the corporate side of business. He defends these ideas and people with all his heart. If the entire topic of his debate were contricted to what he talks about, I would have to agree. But then again, the fact that all our information comes from him is what the film is all about, not really the message, but the messenger. That anybody that captivates you can hold all the favor he wishes to give. Look at the scenes at the talk show as case-in-point. Since he's the only one able to verbalize, he holds enough sway to get public favor (which only moments earlier looked to skin him alive) turned in his direction. While smoking is an important topic, in this film, it really is only a marker to show the finer points of malipulation and get caught in it for ourselves.
I love this screenplay, which mixes wonderful spells of relevent and irrelevent humor with a strong touch of urgency. When asked by his son what makes America's government the best, his first response is "Our Appeals Court". One of the film's finest moments come when Nick meets with a superagent in Hollywood (Rob Lowe), where they hatch up a way get people smoking in space movies. It manages away from taking itself too seriously, nor reaching too far for jokes.
All I can say is this, Aaron Eckhart has a nod from me for Best Actor so far. This is a skilled and nuanced performance which is almost impossible in satire. Nick is a real human being surrounded by other humans (some might argue both counts concerning what they do) when formula usually places them as cardboard cutouts. When a fight breaks out between the MOD Squad (Merchants of Death with Eckhart, Maria Bello, and David Koechner as Alcohol and Gun Reps respectively) concerning the total body count each field takes in, you can see that this matter has some weight, even when they joke about it. Cameron Bright takes this role as Nick's son and turns it into a high-caliber performance. He isn't into teenage angst and finds his father interesting, if not a little sleazy. But unlike so many kids in this kind of role, he isn't the voice of reason or the world's biggest jerk...yet.
But this is Jason Reitman's film and he does a spectacular job both as screenwriter and director. Unlike other semi-satires in recent days, this film doesn't get sappy or preachy. These characters all have motives to act and do as they do. The film's look isn't classic Hollywood, nor is it in gurrilla documentary-style either. This film's look is designed specifically to look different and feel different, something he has done with exceptional grace and amusement.
All in all, this is the best satire since Wag The Dog. You can roll that up and smoke it. |
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