Don't let good looks fool you. That's the gut feeling one gets when introduced to Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), a handsome, crafty hotshot lobbyist representing Big Tobacco in Thank You for Smoking, a satirical comedy directed by Jason Rietman.
Smoking is deadly and Nick knows it. But his job is to tweak the perspective of his listening audience of senators, judges, lobbyists and consumers to take a new look at cigarettes. And Nick is very good at getting his point across.
But after meeting tobacco kingpin Doak "The Captain" Boykin (Robert Duvall), the jet-setting Nick finds himself in an awkward situation: delivering a briefcase full of payola to Lorne Lutch (Sam Elliot), a former cowboy-style cigarette model suffering from lung cancer. If that wasn't bad enough, Nick eventually gets kidnapped, tied up, and strung out on nicotine patches. Once the harsh dilemma is over, he finds out he can never smoke again.
In addition to the brilliant performance by Eckhart (see also The Black Dahlia and In the Company of Men), other wily characters pop up along the way. Two of them are Nick's "Merchants of Death" colleagues: lobbyists for the alcohol and firearm trades (played by Maria Bello and David Koechner). Another is a promiscuous yellow journalist (Katie Holmes) who stirs things up with overt sexual advances. Finally, there is Nick's archrival, fierce anti-smoking proponent Senator Ortolan K. Finistirre (William H. Macy), who is committed to having a skull-and-crossbones icon printed on every pack of cigarettes.
In short, Thank You for Smoking (based on a novel written by Christopher Buckley) is a highly intelligent comedy that is both fun and entertaining and a creative way of looking at current smoking issues in society.
When pairing this film with wine, the obvious choice is syrah -- a dark-skinned grape variety known for its lovely aromatics that often includes nuances of smoke and tobacco. Better yet, you can find these types of offerings from a wide array of special wine regions around the globe and different price points.
One delicious example is the Ravenswood 2004 Vintner's Blend Shiraz made with grapes imported from Southeastern Australia ($10*). In a nutshell, this is a well-crafted wine that features notes of leather, violets, ripe boysenberries, vanilla, tobacco and that classic smoky note at the end. Another is the Grant Burge 2004 Shiraz, Miamba, Barossa Valley, South Australia ($19), a charming wine that features flavors of ripe blackberries, raspberries, anise, chewy tannins, and hints of smoke from a eucalyptus-based campfire.
And if you're willing to spend a little extra money on a high-end wine to pair with the film, then try the Cayuse 2003 Syrah, En Chamberlin Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley ($55); a tasty sensation made by French winemaker Christopher Baron in Washington State. This deep, dense and sultry release features notes of smoked meats, fresh tobacco, wild berries, roasted coffee beans, black pepper, and a host of other spices that make this smooth but powerful wine build a sense of confidence on the palate from start to finish.
* Prices quoted in U.S. dollars
