Thank You for Smoking(2005)
dir. Jason Reitman
The tobacco lobbyist who never loses an argument.
Where to watch: Rent $3.99 on Amazon, Apple TV and Fandango At Home; no subscription streaming listed (JustWatch US, Oct 2026)Letterboxd ↗
Nick Naylor is the chief spokesman for the tobacco lobby and a very good talker. He argues with a senator, a teenage son and a cancer-stricken former Marlboro Man, and never loses a debate, because he never has to be right, only to be unbeaten. It's a comedy about how persuasion works when the facts are against you.
Why it’s here
The film is a satire of spin, built on a charming villain. What's punk is that it punches up at lobbyists and the PR people who work for them. What's pedagogical is that Nick narrates his own rhetorical tricks, so a viewer can learn to name them. Pairs with Merchants of Doubt, which was suggested earlier this month, and Trust Me, I'm Lying in the catalog.
Where This Film Lives
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