Roger Dodger
Cast
Campbell Scott as Roger Swanson
Jesse Eisenberg as Nick
Isabella Rossellini as Joyce
Elizabeth Berkley as Andrea
Jennifer Beals as Sophie
Directed by
Dylan Kidd
Rater #2 has description and review.
Rater #1
Has Not Seen Movie
Rater #2
7/10. Roger Swanson (Campbell Scott) scores every night, he likes to say.
However, he has a breakup with his boss and lover (well, duh�) Joyce
(Isabella Rossellini), and his 16-year-old nephew Nick (Jesse
Eisenberg) shows up, saying that he was looking at colleges in the
New York area and decided to give his favorite Uncle Roger a visit.
Roger talks a mile a minute, very suave like, and decides to take
Nick out on the town in search of sex, which, he claims,
is "everywhere".
A fine, inventive movie, with good acting by the leads. Not many
movies would dare to go out on a limb, and this isn't a Hollywood
movie (it's distributed by Artisan), but those who have seen it have
enjoyed it. Its script, by director Dylan Kidd, is often funny, and
could go as Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex but Were
Afraid to Ask Part 2, since Nick is basically na�ve and oblivious.
However, the script leads into the first problem I would like to talk
about.
Although funny at many times, during the many lulls, the drama, which
is supposed to ensue, doesn't ensue. I didn't feel touched or
sympathetic or anything during the "dramatic" sequences, especially
during the end, but at least it goes back to comedy, with the fate of
Roger and Nick. The script has many laugh-out-loud moments, however.
I love the first scene, where Roger is talking to Joyce, Donovan (Ben
Shenkman), and Donna (Mina Badie) at the restaurant, and he's going
on all about Darwin and evolution, and the eventual fate of the
genders. This is a good introduction to Roger: lots of talk, but he
can't back it up, and you can tell he has now idea what in the world
he is actually saying.
Scott won a few awards for his performance in Roger Dodger, which I
can understand. He totally got into his role, and at times it didn't
seem like he was acting, everything was coming naturally to him. An
example of that is when he's talking to Nick about different ways to
look at women (which is about a 10 minute take), he just keeps on
talking and talking like it wasn't scripted. I could almost hear the
director laughing in the background. I hope that this bounces his
career more, because he is a great actor. Eisenberg was also very
good as the nervous teen, he also seemed to know what he was doing.
Another point I really liked was the music. It was crystalline, and
it sounded solid, which is probably symbolism for Roger: he thinks
he's solid with the women, but he really has as much to learn as the
student. He thinks that he knows everything that's there, but he
doesn't really, and he figures that out throughout the movie. To be
forewarned is to be forearmed, so here I go: if you're a feminist or
against sexism, this isn't really your movie. Roger's view of women
won't appeal to those, but he does talk about that the female sex
will eventually rule the earth and men will be their slave (aren't
they already?). If you don't mind, though, it's a very good movie
that may not deserve all of the acclaim it's getting but is still
better than most of the Hollywood drek that's out now.
Rater #3
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #4
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #5
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rated R for sexual content and language.
Running time: 104 minutes
Back Home