Brad Feld

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Thank You For Smoking

Apr 21, 2006

I haven’t been out to see a movie in a while (I don’t know why – Amy and I love movies at the theater.)  Last night we saw Thank You For Smoking.  It was brilliant.

I thought the Christopher Buckley book Thank You for Smoking was an absolute riot when it came out.  The movie is based on the book and does a superb job of telling the same story while updating it a little.  Aaron Eckhart was phenomenal as the main character (a cigarette lobbyist) and William H. Macy continues to be the sleeper actor of the universe for his portrayal of the Vermont senator who wants to put poison labels on cigarettes.

The one liners were awesome.  Following are a few better ones to give you a taste.

  • Michael Jordan plays ball. Charlie Manson kills people. I talk.
  • My other interviews have pinned you as a mass murderer, blood sucker, pimp, profiteer and my personal favorite, yuppie mephistopheles.
  • My job requires a certain . . . moral flexibility.
  • You know the guy who can pick up any girl? I’m him on crack.
  • Don’t forget, I’m his father, you’re just the guy who fucks his mom.
  • We don’t sell Tic Tacs, we sell cigarettes. And they’re cool, available, and *addictive*. The job is almost done for us.

At 92 minutes in length, it also nicely broke the mold of movies that are 25 minutes too long.