What can I say about Thank You For Smoking? Go see it. If you can get tickets, that is. Currently it is only playing in a few cities in the U.S., including four theatres in New York, which makes me feel kind of cool.

Aaron Eckhart carries this entire movie with his dimpled-chin charm. I heard conversations after the movie along the lines of “oh, he was in Erin Brockovich.” Eckhart might fly under the radar, but he’s been around for years. This might be your last chance to see Katie Holmes on the big screen, now that she’s sacrificed her career to Scientology. She’s not bad in this, but I don’t buy her as a reporter for a major Washington newspaper. They are just two players in a stellar cast that includes Robert Duvall, Maria Bello, Rob Lowe, and the always superb William H. Macy.

Thank You For Smoking is a smart, at times wickedly funny satire on lobbying and the tobacco industry. The real credit here goes to Jason Reitman, who was “established in 1977” according to the opening credits. He may be the son of director Ivan Reitman, but he has undeniable talent as both a director and a screenwriter. I am just so insanely jealous that he has accomplished all this and is only a little bit older than I am.

In no other film will the words “Winston-Salem” ever get as much dialogue. Having spent four years in college there, I can tell you with authority that big tobacco is one of the only things going for that town, aside from Wake Forest. It’s just too bad that Thank You For Smoking isn’t playing in Winston-Salem, NC…yet.