Thank You For Smoking

Definitely one the year's funniest movies thus far.... (and probably the smartest, too)

http://themovieboy.com/directlinks/06thankyou.htm

It's only out in limited release. Will probably be out on DVD by August.

I've heard good things about this from one or two people who've seen it. I'm waiting for the DVD, though.

larry

I watched a couple of weeks ago. Wish I can watch it every week. Make me feel a lot better about my job

Good stuff, though maybe too clever (better than the alternative, I suppose). Kinda like if NPR made movies! Some really great laughs...

A very funny film, but it had no chance at commercial success due to the popular dislike of the anti-smoking campaign. Those anti-smoking commercials are so widely mocked and reviled that I think they've created a negative association which can easily unfairly blanket films like this one.

Saw this one now that it's out on DVD. It's very funny. It's kind of a very dark comedy that's never presented in a dark way. And it's also quite topical. The real subject of the movie isn't smoking or cigarettes, it's really about 'spin culture'.

Didn't know that...

Picked this up Tuesday and put it in my collection without viewing.
Guess I will watch it sooner rather than later.

It's a treat. Totally irreverent.

Did anyone else notice that no matter how much of the movie was about smoking, and how many of the characters were smokers there was not a single cigarette smoked on film?

I loved this movie.

Now THAT is interesting...

I noticed this, in particular with the main character who for most of the movie I assumed was smart enough not to actually be a smoker but who is in fact a smoker. I think his character would have been more interesting had he been a non-smoker.

The head of the tobacco agency is shown in numerous scenes with a cigar however.

Intelligent movie, especially the scene in the classroom.

--Kids, research the facts before you smoke, don't just take your teachers word for it. Then the teacher pushes him out.--

Classic take on propaganda. The movie in the end just tells you to think, it never takes a particular side.

Liked the movie but did not think it was that funny to me. Oh well

FWIW it's now available at Netflix (just added it to my qeue)

Huh?? There has been a marked decrease in teen smoking in states which have conducted a comprehensive anti-smoking campaign. When money for the programs dries up, smoking rates again begin to rise. The value of these campaigns is not in question.

I don't know anyone, including smokers, who greet anti-smoking efforts with the distain you describe. Since most smokers want to someday be non-smokers, primarily due to the truth about the health effects of smoking finally getting out there, these campaigns are usually greeted with praise by the general public. Certainly, anything that slows the growth of a nasty habit that kills half a million Americans a year can only be described as a good thing.

I actually think a lot of people do laugh at the stupidity of the anti-smoking spots. Since a huge chunk of them are funded by the tobacco lobbies they are an absolute joke.

Besides this movie isn't really about smoking and that's plain as day to see, as already mentioned its about the spin culture. And if too many people are too stupid to see past the spin on their news networks then of course they aren't going to flock to a movie mocking it. I can see this being a huge cult movie a few years down the road when more people finally get the wool pulled from their eyes but I doubt the producers of this film ever saw this being a blockbuster anyway.

Probably less than the anti-drug messages...




Oh, and I agree 100% with your point, Arch.

I've never met anyone who wasn't completely annoyed by the obnoxious "thetruth.org" spots & the "stand" ones aren't much better.

I agree with this and am also annoyed when these campaigns use out of context statistics and obvious inflamations to try to make a point. It is insulting the intelligence of the consumer by villifying tobacco. I believe they would have a much larger impact offering the simple facts instead of dramatizing the issue and ultimately lowering the intelligence of their message. This is compounded on the fact that occasionaly what they claim is far from theTruth.

Oh c'mon. The truth about tobacco is that smoking related illnesses kill half a million people a year. Nobody disputes that figure anymore, including the tobacco companies. That figure includes my father (and my mother has emphysema and a bout with lung cancer) - both my parents were smokers their entire adult life. As is my sister and, now, my wife. My wife has tried to quit dozens of times, and failed each time; the pull is so strong. I fear the future unless she manages to succeed at some point. This is a dangerous and highly addictive drug that kills far more people than cocaine, heroine, and meth combined. I am as glad as anything else in my life that I never started smoking, or I'd probably be as addicted as the rest of my family.

The truth about the cigarette companies is that they've known of the dangers of their product as used as intended for decades, yet have engaged in the most despicable form of pushing it onto young people, manipulating nicotine levels, etc. There's no need for anti-smoking campaigns to "dramatize the issue"; the truth is surely dramatic enough.

Which is exactly docmal's point.

You're 100% correct about this but I believe you are missing the point about the commercials. They are terrible. Kids can see straight through the BS. When adults try to be hip and edgy to appeal to kids the end result usually backfires. I've always believed that since the commercials are largely funded by the tobacco lobby that they are designed with that effect in mind.

Okay, I see your points I guess. I'm probably so old that I couldn't recognize "hip and edgy" if they bit me on me bum. But that brings up a good question:

What would constitute an effective anti-smoking ad that would persuade kids without pandering to them?

This is also one of the reasons parents fail' in their attempt to be the perfect parent' (which is impossible). They are too interested in being buddies' to those children rather than being parents - you have dysfunctional parents being parents. The interesting thing about our society; no one teaches how to be a parent (please, no insulting self-help books by Mr. or Ms. Nobody that saturate our market). One of the most important jobs, and we devote no education on how to help our children better the world and themselves - we just wing it. Why isn't parenthood incorporated into our society at an early age? You don't want to know what I think, besides, it's against the rules.

The best ad I can remember seeing featured a girl who was about 23 that looked like she was in her 80s because of smoking related illnesses. It was still a little hokey but far more effective than any recent ad I've seen. Even more effective would be to send people like her out to schools to actually talk to kids first hand and forego the ads altogether.

The simplest thing to do would be to eradicate tobacco. Gee, I wonder why that hasn't been done?

It seems to me that anti-smoking campaigns SHOULD be aimed at young people.
Theoretically, they won't have the wisdom that typically comes with age.

Adults (>25 yrs.) are responsible for their own degree of smarts on this issue.
If an adult desires this drug, then it is their choice.
I guess...

I always thought those cards put out by the ALA back when I was in my teens were pretty good. You know - the ones that showed a healthy lung and a diseased, shriveled blackened one due to years of smoking.

I don't know how much of a deterrent they actually were, but they sure were gross to look at. I already had my mind made up that I'd never start, but those things just cemented it for me personally.