Thank You for Smoking
Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: March 17, 2006
7.4
USER SCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 199 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
155
Mixed:
30
Negative:
14
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User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
5
RyanO.May 13, 2006
This is a very glossy, snappy picture that delivers practically nothing to its audience. That nothingness is wrapped rather expertly in a glib and glossy package though. I laughed aloud a few times.
1 of 1 users found this helpful
5
DanC.Feb 21, 2007
I'm amazed by all the reviews calling this movie funny, witty, and bitingly satirical. It's incredibly bland and obvious throughout, as are its characters. Nothing subversive or original here. Almost no laughs, not many quiet funny I'm amazed by all the reviews calling this movie funny, witty, and bitingly satirical. It's incredibly bland and obvious throughout, as are its characters. Nothing subversive or original here. Almost no laughs, not many quiet funny moments, and generally boring as heck. This is 1/100 the satire of a real masterpiece like the South Park movie.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful
6
ChadS.Apr 21, 2006
"Thank You for Smoking" lacks a moment like the one in "Clerks" when Jason Mewes sells a pack of cigarettes to a little girl. Nick Naylor(Aaron Eckhart) doesn't have to be a caricature of evil like Darth Vader, but we should feel some "Thank You for Smoking" lacks a moment like the one in "Clerks" when Jason Mewes sells a pack of cigarettes to a little girl. Nick Naylor(Aaron Eckhart) doesn't have to be a caricature of evil like Darth Vader, but we should feel some measure of hatred for him. I think the filmmaker might've introduced Nick's son too early in the game. Being a good father redeems Nick in spite of the moral dilemma that is the lobbyist's modus operandi. After his talk with Joey's classmates, he should be in the schoolyard passing out free samples of those candy-flavored cigarettes manufactured by R.J. Reynolds. The tobacco industry isn't especially tactful, so why should a film about them be? "Thank You for Smoking" may not bite hard enough for people who lost loved ones to lung cancer and heart-related diseases. This film would've been perfect for Alexander Payne in his "Citizen Ruth"-mode.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
JimG.Jul 22, 2006
Satire successfully takes a walk-a-mile-in-my-shoes twist.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
LoisB.Mar 18, 2006
Cute, surface "satire." Some funny bits, but much less here than meets the eye. Too bad, considering the ripe opportunities today. (The last 3 sentences of Maurice F.'s review are lifted directly from Peter Travers' Rolling Stone review. )
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
ArtP.Apr 1, 2006
Eh....As mediocre as potentially great films get. Good acting, good directing, but the story just didn't feel like it went anywhere. I don't know what else to say about it, pure mediocrity.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
CarlosA.Apr 22, 2006
My wife (ex-smoker going on 10 months) took me to see this, and it promised a whole lot in the first drags, but then it was nothing but filter. The protagonist has no real journey, and the style gets stale soon after. The warning label on My wife (ex-smoker going on 10 months) took me to see this, and it promised a whole lot in the first drags, but then it was nothing but filter. The protagonist has no real journey, and the style gets stale soon after. The warning label on this one should read: Real satire should be dangerous to your health, and this one ain't.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
Tss5078Jan 25, 2015
Lobbyists represent everything that is wrong with our country. Instead of voting for the common good of the people, they are paid in voters and campaign contributions, to vote the way big business wishes them to vote. The result is laws thatLobbyists represent everything that is wrong with our country. Instead of voting for the common good of the people, they are paid in voters and campaign contributions, to vote the way big business wishes them to vote. The result is laws that benefit the few and hurt the many. Thank You For Smoking takes an in depth look at one of these lobbyists, who works for big tobacco. In a satirical way, the film shows how this man is able to achieve his companies goals through bending the facts, bribery, and out right lying in a way that is completely legal under our system of government. Aaron Eckhart is terrific, which will come as little surprise to many, however the film was anything but. Like most films, Thank You For Smoking has it's moments, but overall the film is one short scene that just repeats it's self over and over again. The situations are different and the players are different, but the arguments and agendas are always the same. After watching two hours of the same thing over and over again, I was more than done with this film. No matter how charismatic the actor may be, the fact is that what lobbyists do isn't terribly interesting. It's one meeting and argument after another and the film just completely runs around in circles. The film was critically acclaimed for Eckhart's performance, but nothing else. Some critics think that one outstanding performance makes a film worth seeing, but I don't. Aaron Eckhart is an outstanding actor, who has been great in many other films that are worth seeing. Thank You For Smoking is nothing more than an insult to the American people, that runs forty minutes too long, and just goes around in circles, it's not something I'd recommend wasting your time on.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
6
amheretojudgeNov 2, 2018
to walk over that fine line between humor and drama..

Thank You For Smoking Reitman's comedy satire about smoke and ashes is a home run for him since it achieves to walk over that fine line between humor and drama, something that greatto walk over that fine line between humor and drama..

Thank You For Smoking

Reitman's comedy satire about smoke and ashes is a home run for him since it achieves to walk over that fine line between humor and drama, something that great filmmakers have failed to do so. And he has done it in here with such fluidity that it leaves you in an awe of it. The story itself demands lots of monologues, arguments and logistics that are not statistical but social. And to write dialogues and conversations whilst delivering all of that is like climbing a slope against the wind. But Reitman has done it, and that sweetens his victory more.

One of the best bits of the feature is of course the relationship of the protagonist with his son. Since he has to explain all his higher ideal concepts in the most literal and simple way, this is the window where the writer is basically speaking with the audience in Layman's terms to advance the storyline. And yes it does get mechanical very quickly along with the structure of the script, but this corporate world that you are about to explore endorses it before you even go in, hence it is mandatory to feel like such.

And with bits of humor, one liners and sensational point of view through which Reitman argues with you, it is literally hard to argue back. Now amidst all these superness of the feature, the plot gets rusty within first few minutes as it practically screams the entire trajectory out on a podium before it even hits the screen that extracts the heat from the soul. Eckhart is convincing just as his logics are and along with him rides an amazing supporting cast like Simmons, Macy, Holmes, Elliot and Duvall and they all stand up to their caliber and deliver unflinchingly. Thank You For Smoking feels more like a sitcom than a picture, but hey, it works either way.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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5
KenROct 14, 2020
This slickly produced movie tries hard to seem impartial - with a dig at both sides of the ‘for and against’, health and moral aspects of the cigarette game. While it’s smart (at times maybe too smart for its own good) like the ‘Spin’ DrsThis slickly produced movie tries hard to seem impartial - with a dig at both sides of the ‘for and against’, health and moral aspects of the cigarette game. While it’s smart (at times maybe too smart for its own good) like the ‘Spin’ Drs themselves, it falls between the impossible task of trying to please everyone (a sure formula for failure, and pleasing no-one). Performances are mostly good and its rough-edged script is both crude and acerbic. With several perverse situations (there’s not one decent person to be found) making it mostly suitable for those trendy types, who feel they have all the answers to anything. It’s like an advertiser’s handbook on how to sell everything to people who virtually need nothing – or a politicians guide at how to say everything while committing to nothing.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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