The Art of Talking

I talk. You talk. But when Nick Naylor talk’s people listen. They are mesmerized, confused, embarrassed and totally bamboozled. For all the non Independent movie aficionados, Nick Naylor is the protagonist of the Sundance featured film Thank You For Smoking. It’s a hilarious social satire that takes a hard look at political correctness. The best part of the movie is that it mines comic gold from a topic that’s not laughing matter.

Nick Naylor says “Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I talk.” Talking is what he does as the chief lobbyist of the big 5 tobacco companies. Its best summed up by the strapline of the movie “Nick Naylor doesn’t hide the truth…he filters it”. He practices an art of public relations called Spin. Spin is a term signifying a heavily biased portrayal in one's own favor of an event or situation. Naylor tells his son about winning as “it’s not a negotiation, it’s an argument”. And when his son asks what happens when he’s wrong he replies saying that’s the beauty of an argument, when you argue correctly you are never wrong. You don’t have to argue that you are right, just prove the other wrong and you will be right automatically. Now that’s what makes a spin doctor.

The funniest part of the movie is when the MOD (Merchants of Death) squad gets together for lunch and mutual support. Nick is joined by a lady from the booze lobby and another guy from the gun lobby. Once they get into an argument of which industry takes toll of maximum number of people in a year. This argument is worth watching. Naylor comes out trumps by sarcastically dismissing that it’s a great tragedy that 270 people die of boozing compared to 1200 by smoking.

One of the best parts of the movie is when Naylor is sitting with his son and arguing about ice creams.

Joey: So, what happens when you're wrong?
Nick: Well, Joey, I'm never wrong.
Joey: But you can't always be right.
Nick: Well, if it's your job to be right, then you're never wrong.
Joey: But what if you are wrong?
Nick: Okay, let's say that you're defending chocolate and I'm defending vanilla. Now, if l were to say to you "Vanilla's the best flavor ice cream," you'd say...?.
Joey: "No, chocolate is."
Nick: Exactly. But you can't win that argument. So, I'll ask you. So you think chocolate is the end-all and be-all of ice cream, do you?.
Joey: It's the best ice cream; I wouldn't order any other.
Nick: Oh. So it's all chocolate for you, is it?.
Joey: Yes, chocolate is all I need.
Nick: Well, I need more than chocolate. And for that matter, I need more than vanilla. I believe that we need freedom and choice when it comes to our ice cream, and that, Joey Naylor, that is the definition of liberty.
Joey: But that's not what we're talking about.
Nick: Ah, but that's what I'm talking about.
Joey: But... you didn't prove that vanilla's the best.
Nick: I didn't have to. I proved that you're wrong and if you're wrong, I'm right.
Joey: But you still didn't convince me.
Nick: Because I'm not after you. I'm after them.

In the next shot, they are seen on a Ferris wheel, both eating Vanilla ice cream

All in all the movie is very well made, a must watch for all those who want to sit back and get wholesome entertainment and not to mention those who like wit talk.

And yeah, Thank You For Reading.