neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Roger Dodger
	Dylan Kidd Cameron Scott, Jennifer Beals, Elizabeth Berkley, Isabella Rossellini, Jesse Eisenberg 2001		An astute, conversational script by first-time writer/director Dylan Kidd is the best attribute of "Roger Dodger" — a scathingly funny anatomy of a loquacious, cynical Manhattan ad writer and self-styled ladies' man whose glib patter does nothing to disguise his misogyny. But that shouldn't take any glory away from the fully realized, deliberately off-putting performance of Cameron Scott, an actor often relegated to nice-guy or best-friend roles, as the film's anti-hero: cold-blooded Roger Swanson. The fulcrum of this comedy of manners and sexual stratagems is Roger's attempt to impart the art of seduction to his visiting 16-year old nephew Nick during one misbegotten night on the town. In the process, Roger finds his life unraveling. As talky as it is, "Roger Dodger" needed an eloquent, engaging cast to hold the viewer rapt. It was Kidd's good fortune to have Scott in the lead, Jesse Eisenberg as Nick, Jennifer Beals and Elizabeth Berkley as sexy bachelorettes encountered by Roger and Nick at a pick-up bar, and Isabella Rossellini as Roger's cosmopolitan, no-nonsense boss and sometime lover.