Law Religion Culture Review

Exploring the intersections of law, religion and culture. Copyright by Richard J. Radcliffe. All rights reserved.

Monday, April 10, 2006

Movie Review: Thank You for Smoking.

Thank you for Thank You for Smoking, Jason Reitman.

Mr. Reitman wrote and directed this most clever of satires. The movie's basic pitch is what a tobacco lobbyist's job must be like. The film more broadly explores the grand American tradition of spin in all of its manifestations. Whether the spinners are lobbyists, politicians, lawyers, advertisers or media moguls the skill is the same--how to get the public to buy into what they are selling.

Often, it's a product is of no redeeming value. Now that's a hard task. One of the movie's greatest lines is, "You want an easy job, go work for The Red Cross."

The movie is simultaneously funny and thought-provoking. As I have been bemoaning the recent American tradition of derivative movies, this one stands out for its ingenuity.

Outstanding.

Thank You for Smoking receives an A-.