Product Details

• Actors: Aaron Eckhart, Cameron Bright, Maria Bello, Joan Lunden, Eric Haberman
• Directors: Jason Reitman
• Writers: Jason Reitman, Christopher Buckley
• Producers: Alessandro Camon, Daniel Brunt, Daniel Dubiecki, David J. Bloomfield, David O. Sacks
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: October 3, 2006
• Run Time: 92 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (229 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000H0MKOC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,106 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Thank You for Smoking (Widescreen Edition)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As the saying goes, Aaron Eckhart was born to play Nick Naylor, the 30-something "voice of Big Tobacco" in this brazen satire of corporate profits and what lobbyists will do to protect them. Right from the opening, Eckhart is in spin mode, turning the tables on a popular talk show when he states health officials want a young teen stricken by cancer to die more than big tobacco does, since the boy would be a martyr to them, but only a single lost customer to the industry. Audiences gasp, panelists guffaw, and the kid happily shakes Nick's hand. The Academy of Tobacco Studies has a colorful array of folks surrounding Nick, including his cantankerous boss (J.K. Simmons) and the Colonel (Robert Duvall), tobacco's undisputed leader. His closet friends are lobbyists for guns (David Koechner) and alcohol (Maria Bello) who discuss their odd businesses over regular lunches, but when a cutie-pie reporter (Katie Holmes) swings into Nick's life, things begin to unravel. Based on Christopher Buckley's even more outlandish novel, Thank You for Smoking is a bright light for the filmgoer tired of gutless films formulated by committee, and first-time filmmaker Jason Reitman has expertly cast the film, which includes deft turns by William H. Macy and Sam Elliot. Nick's son, a throwaway in the novel, becomes a major influence here in Nick's development and a key student of Naylorisms such as, "If you argue correctly, then you're never wrong," though a father and son trip to Hollywood to visit an uber agent (Rob Lowe at his most suave) demonstrates how the inclusion of the son both helps and hurts the film. Book fans will miss the wicked plot turn, but the final result is a sharp and smart comedy deserving of a long, savory drag. --Doug Thomas

Product Description

WARNING: Thank You For Smoking "just might make you laugh your head off!" (MAXIM). Aaron Eckhart stars as Nick Naylor, a sexy, charismatic spin-doctor for Big Tobacco who'll fight to protect America's right to smoke -- even if it kills him -- while still remaining a role model for his 12-year old son. When he incurs the wrath of a senator (William H. Macy) bent on snuffing out cigarettes, Nick's powers of "filtering the truth" will be put to the test. As Nick says, "If you want an easy job, go work for the Red Cross."

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent satire December 9, 2007

By Matthew G. Sherwin HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Thank You For Smoking is one of those few dark comedies that truly had me laughing all the way; and I can't remember how long it's been since I laughed so much watching a movie! The lines are funny; the acting is convincing and the movie manages to make a great point about "spin" (aka bulls***) in today's world.

The action begins with tobacco lobbyist Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) appearing on a talk show to put a spin on the fact the smoking causes cancer. Nick, smirking all the way, says that the tobacco companies want a boy with cancer to live so they could keep another customer. Nick argues further that health officials would love to see the young "cancer boy" die so their budgets would be fatter. This is just the tip of the iceberg, folks; Nick goes through his whole life putting a spin on tobacco to make it seem safe, romantic and glorious.

Nick's partners in crime include two people he meets for lunch from time to time; and they call themselves "The Mod Squad." Look for great performances by Maria Bello as Polly Bailey and David Koechner as Bobby Jay Bliss who work for the alcohol and gun lobbies respectively. Nick's slave driving boss, B.R. (J.K. Simmons) puts in a great performance and the head honcho of the tobacco group, simply referred to as "Captain," is played wonderfully by Robert Duvall.

Nick's personal life isn't peachy--he's separated from his wife. When a seductive female reporter Heather Holloway (Katie Holmes) gets the real scoop on Nick's secrets and lets it all out in a tell-all article in a prominent Washington, D.C. newspaper, Nick's world comes crashing down around him.

Will Nick be able to bounce back from the negative publicity he gets? Will he keep his friends and his job?... What will his young, impressionable son Joey (Cameron Bright) think of him when the whole truth comes out? Watch the movie to find out these answers and more, folks--there are no spoilers here!

The DVD comes with a plethora of extras. We get an interview with Aaron Eckhart and others on The Charlie Rose Show; there are quite a few deleted scenes with optional director's commentary; there's a brief "making of" featurette; a director and cast commentary; storyboard and more! I am very impressed.

Overall, I would highly recommend Thank You For Smoking for people who enjoy indie movies that are really funny and try to playfully make a point at the same time. You'll notice that no one in the film is ever filmed smoking a cigarette! However, this is not a family movie; there is a fair amount of swearing and there are some violent scenes that could upset small children. (The kidnapping scene is one of them; but I won't say much more to save the juicy plot for you.)

Now THAT'S what I call a great flick! Read more ›

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars (Mostly) Lighthearted satire, with great results. January 5, 2007

By M. Donnelly

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

To be brief, Thank You for Smoking is one of my favorite movies in recent years. It's witty and smart without being a movie that you need to set out too much time for, given that its runtime is a mere 92 minutes.

While it is brief and inviting to pick up and watch, it does have a serious touch of satire in it, providing a critique of modern day society's overall standards and morals. In one scene in particular Nick Naylor, the main character, talks to his son in a way that makes his job appear even noble, while protecting corporations that claim thousands of lives each year.

Overall, without getting too technical: at LEAST rent this if you like satires, but if you enjoy sarcastic wit and humor, the odds are in favor of a purchase.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars WOW!!! A major motion picture that is both funny and smart... November 14, 2006

By Kevin L. Junemann

Format:DVD

I tend to be hard on a lot of major motion pictures because, to be frank, they mostly suck. However, this only turned into a "major motion picture" after Fox Searchlight bought it after it's screening at the Sundance Film Festival. Before that it was the vision of fledgling director Jason Reitman to independently bring Christopher Buckley's tremendously smart and funny book of the same name to the screen... and he does a good job. There's a reason why this film is loaded with the (mostly unpaid or underpaid) who's who of Hollywood talent. The script and screenplay are that good. This is not the typical low-brow, fart-joke riden crap you're used to seeing out of Hollywood. There are good acting performances throughout as well. If you are a person of above average wit and have a dry sense of humor, you'll like it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Spins Out Of Control July 22, 2007

By Alistair McHarg

Format:DVD

Here's a good example of how smart, literary satire doesn't translate well onto the screen. Thank You For Smoking does have some big laughs, but it just doesn't hang together as a movie. The titles are extremely good - and it does contain one high concept joke - no one is actually ever seen smoking a cigarette throughout the entire picture. But film is a "show me don't tell me" medium, and Nick's tiresome monologues, required to set up point of view and plot turns, show the fingerprints of a director with young and heavy hands.

What this film does get right is the pitch; cynicism is rampant and shows up consistently, there are no heroes. Robe Lowe is perfectly cast as the completely soul-less super-agent, and the brief moments his assistant spends on screen are memorable. The reliable Sam Elliott is note perfect - his moral outrage quivers visibly with the proximity of cash. Robert Duvall, who by now could mail in a performance like this, is very comfortable as the "Captain" - tobacco industry ruler - and even seems to exhibit some remorse at the idea of killing his grand-daughter. J.K. Simmons - a consistently excellent actor - is outstanding as BR, our protagonist's ruthless boss who pretty much epitomizes opportunism. Katie Holmes as Heather Holloway is enchanting as she steals our hope that the fourth estate might be on a morally higher plane than everyone else in the miasma.

The kidnapping episode, the book's lynch pin, is used, but abused, it seems to drop out of the air then conveniently disappear. But that's not the film's overriding problem. Aaron Eckhart as Nick is winning, but completely uninteresting. Any engaging substance this film might have generated would have come from Nick's personality, and inner struggle with the facile way he bends truth.... Since we never see anything remotely resembling a personality, we can't like him or dislike him, we just look at him as a hideous reflection of what we've become, a symbol of the manipulative and disingenuous forces surrounding us. For Nick, and for everyone here, truth isn't even an issue anymore; the issue is, what is sell-able? It's an accurate social observation that would have made a good essay, did make a good book, and didn't make a good movie. Read more ›