Roger Dodger | | Cast : | Campbell Scott, Jesse Eisenberg, Isabella Rossellini | | Director : | Dylan Kidd | | Studio : | Lions Gate Home Entertainment | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | January 01, 2002 | | DVD Released Date : | October 21, 2003 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | March 01, 2005 | | Summary | Smarmy Fun | Content
 | Going in I assumed this was a film about a suave player (Campbell Scott) who was charm women & end up passing this skill down to his nephew. I was only half right. During the set up we actually find out that he's sort of a prick. If he likes you he uses his elocutionary skills flatter you. If he's having a bad day he using them to debase you. Then his 16 yr. old nephew enters the picture & asks for help with the ladies. Normally he might not "waste" his time in helping another human being, but I believe it creates a nice distraction from the current turbulation in his life. This film primarily takes place during one night. Scott BSs his way throughout the evening trying to teach his nephew a thing or 2. They interact with a couple of chicks at a bar, Elizabeth Berkley who I enjoy & Jennifer Beals who I find highly overrated. They like the boy's naivetivity. Scott then continues the night trying to get the boy laid while the night gets seamier & seamier. There is definitely some truthfullness in this movie, such as when Scott tells his nephew about the closing time scenario in which everyone gets depressed & just don't want to be alone. In the end it seems that the nephew may have learned a thing or 2 even though he'd probably retain his sweetness. Scott may or may not change, but I think it's more about the scene & lonliness than any one or 2 characters. This film really does seem to push you into the movie. I often felt uncomfortable, just like in real life. This is the look the filmmakers were going for & it really worked for me. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 07, 2004 | | Summary | Smarmy Believability | Content
| Campbell Scott, the true Cary Grant of the Indy Film, has out done himself as the glib, womanizing Manhattan lounge lizard. A film smoothie is always interesting for the viewing sexes because he portrays our fantasy, our comedy of manners, to a satisfying or mythological conclusion -- mutually satisfying urban hookup. Having offered the lady a drink, he amuses her with entertaining banter with ever increasing innuendo. Body language of the female kind primps above and below the restaurant table. If all the stylish buttons are pushed - success, and it's off to those prestigious Manhattan jobs in the morning. "And so the cycle of life begins anew," says Marlin Perkins.
Campbell's sixteen-year old, screen nephew from Ohio shows up to learn about women from the legend. Uncle obliges, but his one significant other, Isabella Rossellini, his penthouse-advertising boss, has just dumped the disbelieving charmer. His bitterness is taken out on the worshiping nephew in a series of women chasing vignettes. Bad uncle takes the boy to a bordello and it all goes very wrong.
The script is a work of art and Campbell delivers his lines with smarmy believability. This one is a must for couples.
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| Rating | | | Date | August 20, 2004 | | Summary | Not sure | Content
| Very clever film, but I found it very hard to watch. I am not sure why. Maybe because I found the Roger character to be totally loathsome. That kind of person, who is willing to sacrifice everything else just to get sex looks like a winner, but is actually a complete loser. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 21, 2004 | | Summary | A Rodger Dodger In An Age Of Politically Correct Repression | Content
| This is a fun "art house" movie. Fun because the script is tight and the acting top notch and you know from the start you are in the hands of a good director. Just the kind of thing you want from a night at an art house: not a message movie like many such films but instead in-your-face film making - and three cheers for that. Campbell Scott plays the smooth player who tutors his nephew Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) on how to get laid. The action takes place mostly in one night of bar and party hopping. This script is so good that any bar lizard could learn from the lines and strategy used by Scott's character. Scott's character is an accomplished and dedicated player who never sees the wrong in his ways and that is the delicious and honest part of the film. One review talked about the player venting his anger at women but my take was that he stayed in control the entire movie, venting naturally (and within limits) when he was thrown over by his boss/lover. Like him or hate him, the player is a pro from beginning to end. The viewer has to decide whether he likes or dislikes women. In the final analysis what matters is how well Campbell Scott's character plays the game and he is a rodger dodger in an age of Politically Correct repression. How refreshing! Five stars out of five. |
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