According to the Chicago Tribune , Thank You for Smoking is the best comedy since The 40-Year-Old Virgin . We know this because Fox has splashed this quote on commercials, movie posters and now the DVD case. But while being deemed the best comedy to hit theaters between August 2005 and March 2006 is a really neat accomplishment, Smoking deserves just a little more praise than that.

The cold-blooded skewering of the bizarre relationship between lobbyists and congressmen – as well as big tobacco and its dying customers – is dry, wry and hilariously offensive. It's also, if you can believe it, wholly life-affirming and beautiful.

When you tell the truth and laugh at it at the same time, that's what happens. What Bulworth and The Candidate did for electioneering and what Network did for the media, this does for politics as usual. And with Decision ‘06 a mere month away, this one's a must-see. Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, William H. Macy and J.K. Simmons, among others, star.

Extras: Cast/director commentary, deleted scenes, Charlie Rose cast/crew interview, two behind-the-scenes features.

Grade: A