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My father is a dentist. I have no real interest in dentistry and am long past the point in my life where pursuing dentistry as a career was a viable option. If I had put myself on the teeth-pulling path, I have no doubt that many of my professional accomplishments would be compared to those of my dad. Comparisons are inevitable and plentiful when you enter the family business – and expectations can be high. For Jason Reitman, son of Ivan, those expectations might have proved insurmountable. If I were Jason, those expectations might have stopped me from ever getting out of bed in the morning. When your father is the director behind iconic comedies like Stripes, Animal House, Ghost Busters (I & II), Twins, and, of course, Kindergarten Cop, you’re kind of like Seabiscuit in the proverbial race at exceeding the expectations laid out for you. Basically – you’re a long shot.

And yet, Jason, working in the field of so-bittersweet-we’re-not-100%-sure-they’re-comedies comedies, has managed to jump out of the gate with three works that will one day (or already are) regarded as part of the same modern-classic variety as his father’s work. Today, the young Jason Reitman earns our director’s spotlight.

Thank You for Smoking

This quirky comedy is a newly-minted indie mainstay. Every year there are new entries that try to crack the awards scene and the mainstream and steal the thunder out from under the latest Scorsese and Eastwood flicks. Ask any young producer in Hollywood what type of script he is looking for, and you can bet descent odds that he will respond with “something affordable and in the same vein as Little Miss Sunshine.” In 2005, Ivan Reitman was apparently such a producer, and his son, Jason proved to be the perfect choice for director of the minor indie-hit Thank You for Smoking.

For full disclosure purposes, I’ll admit my bias for this film. For starters, I was very active in high school debate (New Jersey State Champs, 2005 baby!). The film breaks down the most inherent and unavoidable tenant of debate (and for that matter, of politics, of education, of life), which is that there is no “right” and there is no “wrong.” In a pivotal scene where Nick Naylor has to help his son with his essay on why America has “the best government in the world,” Nick illustrates this concept with the following quip: “Because of our endless appeals system.” He then elaborates that it “…is a bullshit report. There is no best government. There is no measure by which we determine which government is the best. The American government may be the most entertaining, but it is not the best.” He later teaches his son, “See, Joey, that's the beauty of argument. When you argue correctly, you're never wrong.”

That is the very principle on which every high schooler who ever participated in Ted Turner, Lincoln-Douglas, or policy debate hinges an argument. Winning or losing doesn’t have anything to do with being right or wrong – it has everything to do with how you frame your position compared to your competitor. Sounds simple now, but when you’re a high school freshman, it takes a little bit for this to sink in. Once it does, it’s the tenet by which you win every argument – whether with your debate opponent or your overbearing parents.

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