All puff, no substance

It was much praised at the Sundance Festival, but Jason Reitman's debut feature only just manages to stand up as a proper satire in international terms.

It takes a scattergun approach to its subjects that can never make up its mind whether it wants to be politically correct or attack the PC brigade.

At the movie's centre is Nick (Aaron Eckhart), the chief spokesman for a tobacco industry giant. He can deal with any crusadinganti-smoking senator - particularly Ortolan K Finistirre (played by William H Macy) who wants cancer-sticks air-brushed out of old Hollywood movies - and his gift of the gab can spin any argument his way.

It's fun when Nick meets up with his counterparts for the alcohol and firearms lobbies (a trio who refer to themselves as the MoD squad, short for Merchants of Death).

But we are never quite sure whether we are supposed to admire the man or hate him, regardless of whether we're smokers or not. Besides, the screenplay doesn't make him sound as clever as everyone else in the film apparently thinks he is.

Alongside are the totally miscast Katie Holmes as a vampish journo with whom Nick takes up, Rob Lowe as an idiot agent and Sam Elliott as a cancer-stricken ex-Marlboro Man.

They try hard but you just sense that Americans are nothing like as sharp at political and cultural comedy as the Brits.

Thank You For Smoking
Cert: 15