Thank You For Smoking

Interesting trailer just popped up on Ain't It Cool...A movie I've not heard of this year, set to debut at Sundance in another month or two. Title: Thank You For Smoking. Log Line: The adventures of a wily Tobacco Company PR Executive, struggling to maintain his credibility with his family while lying on behalf of cigarette manufacturers. From the trailer, it looks like The Insider meets Jerry Maguire.

The thing looks pretty good. Some funny jokes. A great cast that includes Aaron Eckhart, William H. Macy, Rob Lowe, Sam Elliott, David Koechner, Robert Duvall, Maria Bello, J.K. Simmons and everyone's favorite knocked-up Scientologist-in-waiting, Katie Cruise.

But...I don't know...it does seem a little easy making a film about how the tobacco industry is deceitful. Targets don't come much easier than Big Tobacco. I've written before on the blog here about how I think we go at anti-smoking campaigns all wrong. Over and over again, you see adds and press releases heaping scorn and ridicule on tobacco executives. They're depicted as chronic liars, as greedy and corrupt, and as totally unconcerned for the health and well-being of their fellow citizens or the future of their country.

Are these characterizations totally off-track? Of course not. Like all other wealthy, powerful American executives, tobacco industry types are total asshole scumbags. You can't become a powerful tobacco executive without being a lying prick. Can't happen.

But, like I said, that's true of every major American industry. And it's just not a very compelling argument. "Don't smoke cigarettes because that's just what these stereotypical corporate fat-cats want you to do!" There are far better reasons to avoid smoking cigarettes. Lung cancer is a bitch.

Remember the old anti-smoking ads? It wasn't all this anti-globalization, diverse young people in urban areas staging stunts to turn you off to cigarette lobbyists. It used to be people with large holes cut into their throats that they then smoked out of. Now that's an anti-smoking ad! Bring that back!

And now, we've got this movie that tries yet again to villify Big Tobacco and make them look ridiculous. Look, I'm all for fucking with corporate America...It's funny...It's just not very original or challenging. Oh well...Like I said, the movie itself looks pretty good. I'll probably check it out when it comes around next year.