REVIEWS
Thank You for Smoking
Nick Naylor is handsome, loyal to his son and good at his job. What makes him different is that the job he adores kills more than 12,000 people a day.
Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is a lobbyist for the tobacco industry; he's a spindoctor who can verbally finagle his way around all of cigarettes' dangers. He does this because he loves it, even though he is universally loathed for his ingenious arguing skills.
We meet him on the fictional Joan Lunden show, where an unfortunate child cancer patient has admitted to giving up smoking. Naylor bites back with the fact that it is in the best interest of the tobacco industry to keep the kid alive and smoking. He even insinuates that the health industry wants to see the child die because the industry's statistics will then go up, effectively serving their cause in the future. In saying this Naylor cements his status as a warrior of words for tobacco.
Weekly, Naylor dines with the MOD (Merchants of Death) Squad, comprised of him and lobbyists for the alcohol and firearms industries. The sole purpose of
these meetings is to try to one-up each other in the number of deaths created by their respective industries. Naylor lives his life under the watchful eye of his son Joey (Cameron Bright), who is eager to learn more about who his father is and what he does for a living. Also snooping around is a nosy reporter (Katie Holmes), who will do anything to destroy Naylor's reputation.
The film's brilliance lies in its coolness, a style that is employed much too little. The last time I saw a film that emitted this kind of cool was Ocean's 11. It is shot in a way that reminds us of those glossy cigarette ads from the heyday of cigarettes, but this is no
pro-smoking film.Not one person in the entire film smokes a cigarette.The satire does its job in calling attention to the ridiculousness of tobacco industry tactics,but smokers won't feel alienated because the film doesn't condemn them. It is just so refreshing to see a genuinely cynical film that is so wonderfully ruthless in its comedy.In short,Thank You For Smoking delivers,tar and all.
BOOK By Azar Nafisi READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN
South Wind 12 Rated:R,92 minutes
★★★★
Lindsey Ramsey
Most people know very little about Iranian culture and society, except that Iranians follow strict
Islamic law and are a part of the proclaimed 'axis of evil.' Offening a closer look at Iran, Reading Luffa in Tehran is a combination memoir, literary discussion and social commentary by Azar Nafei, a former university professor in Tehran who resigned in protest of policies that repressed women.
by the male elite mirrors the plot of labokov's Lolita.
Perhaps the most engaging aspect
Following her resignation, Natal invites seven of her most talented female students to participate in weekly meetings at her home to discuss Western literature. The novels that the women read are illegal and they risk their reputations and even their lives by discussing them.
The memoir's plot is based on various interpretations of Western literature regarding Iranian culture and history. For example, Nafiel shows her students that Flitzgurk's The Great Gatsby can be seen as a metaphor for the violent Iranian revolution, and that Iranian women's objectification
an most engaging aspect of the novel is how it interweaves Western art and literature with Middle Eastern society. It allows Nafisa's students to better understand literature, and the reader to better understand Iran.
The tran of this book is one of religious theocracy strict astystalians and morality squads searching for
those in breach of Islamic law. The fact that women play the central role here amplifies the nation's gender inequalities.
Reading Joelha in Tehran is powerful memoir that will captivate anyone interested in women's rights, Iran's Islamic law or literature. It successfully bridges the gap between literary exposure and real life.
Random House, $14.95, Available in Paperback
★★★
Kelsey Hayes