Thank You for Singing

First, please ignore the silly "Warning" label on this product and buy it...or at least rent it.

Second, this post really IS about music.

As I watched this film I was interested in the story, I laughed at the comedy (Adam Brody brings "Seth Cohen" to the big screen with hilarious results), I smirked at the satire, and I was entranced by the acting (save for the vapid Katie Holmes) -- BUT -- It was the soundtrack that did me in.

There are things that a soundtrack should do -- it should be able to go unnoticed for 85 minutes of a 90 minute film and make emphatic statements in the five minutes it is noticed -- but most importantly a soundtrack should punctuate the sentence of the film. The "Thank You for Smoking" soundtrack does all of the above with style.

If you have had the opportunity to see this film, you will understand. Anyone who recognizes one song from this film without google is a musical Rainman (definitely, definitely Patsy Cline...Three...Three Cigarettes in an, an Ashtray) -- but look at the tracklist from the CD. Not only do all but three of the titles refer to smoking or cigarettes, but these songs invoke the memory of a time when the world held an entirely different view of cigarettes. This is the job of our protagonist (Aaron Eckhart) -- to bring us back to that feeling. If only big tobacco could pipe (unintentional pun, I assure you) The Mills Brothers "Smoke Rings" into every convenience store and magazine stand, we'd all be smoking right now.

Thank you Rolfe Kent and Jason Reitman for this lesson in score and sountrack...