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Rodger Dodger (Movie Preview)
("A
sophisticated, witty, surprisingly honest take on sexual
politics")
by
Todd Heustess
Artisan
Pictures has an immense marketing challenge for Roger Dodger,
a film that Artisan picked up at the 2002 Tribeca Film
Festival. The tag line, "Sex is Everywhere," and the trailer
would lead one to believe that it's a sex comedy a la American
Pie - but just a little more sophisticated. |
However, I can't
imagine the teenage audience will warm to the movie,
especially since there's no gross-out humor and no sex. The
characters talk about sex constantly, but there's actually
very little sex shown on-screen. The audience for this movie
is actually the fans of HBO's "Sex and the City," as the
movie plays like an extra-long episode of HBO's hit sitcom
(from a male point-of-view). However, fans of the HBO show
(especially the core audience of single), urban women in
their late 20's to early 40's and gay men might not warm to
a tale of a 16 year-old being taught by his 29 year-old
womanizing uncle how to seduce women. I have a feeling that
Roger Dodger will get lost in the current deluge of
art-house movies and miss its crowd entirely, finally
gaining life when it's released on home video. That's a
shame, as the movie is a sophisticated, witty, surprisingly
honest take on sexual politics here at the beginning of the
new millennium and it deserves an appreciative audience,
which it probably is not going to find.Roger will
inevitably be compared to Igby Goes Down (the other, dark,
urban tale of family dysfunction out there), but it's not a
fair comparison, as Igby is unrelenting in its dark,
corrosive vision and has a much better cast and ultimately -
is a superior film to Roger. It is a fair comparison in
terms of box office though, as Igby will probably finish
just south of $5 million (it could get a second life come
Oscar time) and I would think that Artisan would be
sarcastic to see those kind of numbers from Roger. A $2 - 3
million take is probably more realistic if the reviews are
good and the art-house groupies in the larger cities turn
out in sufficient numbers.
In the film, newcomer Jessie Eisenberg plays Nick, the 16
year-old nephew of Roger (Campbell Scott) whose an ad
executive having an affair with his boss (Isabella
Rossellini) when the film begins. Nick is New York from Ohio
on a college visit and pays Roger a visit, hoping to
convince his uncle to help him on his quest to lose his
virginity. Roger, who spouts off sexual philosophies
constantly throughout the movie, is an aggressive womanizer
who may or may not be falling for his boss, who keeps
insisting that their affair is casual. Roger decides to help
Nick on his quest, but you sense that he's more motivated by
the challenge of the quest than any paternal-like love or
affection for his nephew. Nick's goal is a game for Roger
and he loves playing games.
What's unique about Roger Dodger (when compared to other
coming-of-age comedies) is that the main character is quite
unlikable, but in a human, funny way. Campbell Scott does a
great job of making Roger, if not sympathetic - at least
appealing and witty. In most movies of this genre, his
character would be a big brother type, helping the kid get
his first sexual experience; it would be funny and playful.
Instead, Roger is very calculating and detached in his
relationship with Nick. This man doesn't have a paternal
instinct in him, but he does know (or so he thinks) what
women want and he pushes Nick way beyond his comfort zone in
helping him pursue his goal of his first sexual encounter.
The movie takes place in one fateful night in Manhattan
(very much a nod to After Hours) as Roger and Nick meet
various women in pursuit of Nick's "de-flowering." The movie
would not work without the exceptional performance of
Eisenberg, whose Nick is naive and romantic and a totally
believable teenager overwhelmed by the sexy world of
Manhattan singles. The audience cares for Nick and his
romantic beliefs of love and sex are a refreshing contrast
to Roger's hip cynicism.
Roger Dodger is a sophisticated urban comedy,
masquerading as a teen-sex comedy. If Woody Allen ever wrote
and directed an episode of "Sex and the City," the results
would probably be very similar to Roger Dodger. Roger Dodger
is a very entertaining movie (the jittery, hand-held camera
works does get quite annoying after a while and it's not a
well-lit movie), but ultimately it will probably not be a
very successful film (grossing on the low-end of what
constitutes success among specialized limited releases). It
seems to be lacking any positive advance critical buzz (like
Y Tu Mama Tambien or Monsoon Wedding) that could propel it
beyond the $2 - 3 million range box office, especially with
the onslaught of limited release, independent movies
flooding the art houses now.
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