This satirical comedy actually works better as a character study than a poignant attack on Big Tobacco. At its center is the fascinating Nick Naylor, chief spokesman for Big Tobacco's pseudo-health organization. And he's played perfectly by Aaron Eckhart (IN THE COMPANY OF MEN).
Naylor is a major wheeler and dealer and his moral flexibility is like a wet noodle. But he has to be as the face defending tobacco to the public. As such, his only friends are the MOD (Merchants of Death) Squad — Polly Bailey (Maria Bello, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE) and Bobby Jay Bliss (David Koechner, ANCHORMAN) — who represent the alcohol and gun industries respectively. His boss BR (J.K. Simmons, SPIDER-MAN) needs him to figure out a way to increase sales for the top boss Doak "The Captain" Boykin (Robert Duvall, THE APOSTLE) is pressuring him. Naylor comes up with the idea to make cigarettes cool again by getting a sponsorship deal with a Hollywood film. So he travels to L.A. with his son Joey (Cameron Bright, BIRTH), who just idolizes his father.
However, Naylor's job is only made more difficult by the anti-smoking efforts of Vermont Senator Ortolan K. Finistirre (William H. Macy, THE COOLER). Other key characters include investigative reporter Heather Holloway (Katie Holmes, BATMAN BEGINS), former cigarette spokesman turned cancer patient Lorne Lutch (Sam Elliot, TOMBSTONE), top Hollywood agent Jeff Megall (Rob Lowe, ST. ELMO'S FIRE) and Nick's ex-wife Jill (Kim Dickens, HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG).
Naylor is the prototypical alpha male — aggressive, cocky, good looking, jock, etc., etc. His skills at spinning any situation in his direction are unmatched. Often throughout the film his debates on argument and ethics with his son are poignant and funny. Alfred Hitchcock has been credited as saying that as long as a character shows that they are good at their job an audience will inherently like them. This stands very true for Nick Naylor. In any other film, he would be the character we are rooting against.
It is a tough character to play and Eckhart is the right actor to pull it off. He is a master at making us care about characters that are loathsome. The other standout performance is from Elliot, who plays the dying icon with gravity and heart. He seems like a real threat to breaking Naylor down, but Naylor is too good for that.
First-time writer/director Jason Reitman handles the material well. Satire isn't easy and he does a fine job of balancing character with message. There's a lot of exposition and for the most part it's weaved in pretty well. This isn't the end-all be-all satire of the tobacco industry — it's not dark enough for that — but it stands as a funny critique with a wonderful central character, who we like despite all his flaws. That's a tough thing to do and the film should be commended for doing it well.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
