Film Review - Roger Dodger (2002)

Roger Dodger (2002)

Vital Statistics
Director(s)
Dylan Kidd

Writer(s)
Dylan Kidd

Starring:
Campbell Scott
Jesse Eisenberg
Isabella Rossellini
Elizabeth Berkeley
Jennifer Beals

Review

These days, many films are predictable, you can tell what will happen, or thereabouts, with relative ease; characters will develop in roughly the manner expected and, save twists, so does the story. What is often more important in films that have a predictable tale, is the way the story is spun, its not what happens so much as how it happens. Roger Dodger is one of these ‘many films.’

The story is about how both a womanising uncle and his naïve, 16 year old, nephew grow and develop when the latter visits the former in the big city in order to get help in loosing his virginity. So far this does not sound the most original of films, and that assumption would be correct. So we come back to the discussion, that it is not what happens but how it all happens and from that angle Roger Dodger does have the edge over its competition.

Campbell Scott stars as Roger, uncle to Jesse Eisenberg’s Nick; a big city high flier who avoids speaking to his family and is thus surprised when Nick turns up unexpected. Scott is near perfect as the arrogant, bastard that is Roger, he is not a likeable character, and for a film to put its lead character as a really, truly, un-likeable is a rarity. You don’t even root for him to change and become ‘a better person,’ you don’t pity him, even when he gets to his lowest ebb, urging his nephew to take advantage of a drunken woman.

Eisenberg is the polar opposite of Scott, excellent, as his is young, inexperienced and desperate nephew who matures on one night out with his uncle. He epitomises every awkward 16 year old boy and their wishes, the film‘s title and lead may be Roger but the film is as much about Nick and his journey and development.

The script is witty and clever and the direction helped by some excellent hand held camera work. First time writer-director Dylan Kidd wrote some excellent dialogue, [Roger to his nephew who doesn’t want to drink alcohol - ‘You drink that drink! Alcohol has been a social lubricant for thousands of years. What do you think, you're going to sit here tonight and reinvent the wheel?] but dialogue is also the film’s letdown. The dialogue continues, long after it should have stopped and Kidd hammers home various points - womanising is wrong, Roger is a bastard. This hammering hampers the subtlety towards the end of the film, the subtlety of change and character development that you can see Kidd was aiming to achieve.

With excellent performances, and a script that often makes you think, Roger Dodger is a flawed but enjoyable film, a film that is predictable in its outcome but getting there is done in in great style and sometimes unsual fashion.

Star Rating
3½ stars