RODGER DODGER --------------
Ad exec Rodger (Campbell Scott) delights his coworkers and boss and secret lover Joyce (Isabella Rossellini) with his witty rationale on why women will take over the world during a boozy bistro session, but a later visit to Joyce's apartment reveals a desperate neediness beneath the bravado. Rodger can't accept Joyce's termination of the relationship and it begins to endanger his career. Just as he hangs on the precipice, his 16 year old nephew (Jesse Eisenberg) arrives unexpectedly, looking for life lessons from the infamous ladies' man in tyro writer/director Dylan Kidd's "Rodger Dodger."
This terrifica American independent character study arrives adorned with three awards, including the Luigi De Laurentiis award for first film, from the Venice Film Festival where it played in the Critics' Sidebar. Dylan Kidd's fortuitous choice of a leading man who is a writer/director in his own right makes for a collaboration that results in a sure-footed, stylish debut.
Campbell's hyper manic depressive delivery is perfect for the pitchman who's so used to 'making people feel bad about themselves in order to sell them what they need' that he doesn't see the devastation he leaves in his wake. While his wit does indeed lure women, he can't stop his ability to truthfully size up any situation from wounding them. Scott keeps Rodger from being totally repulsive with the confoundment and rage he feels in his own hollow, if wickedly entertaining, existence. Nick, the son of Rodger's estranged sister, gives him the opportunity to feel good parading his worldly outer shell about.
Jesse Eisenberg, brother of Hallie, makes a fine debut as the eager to learn kid who is too decent and sensitive to follow through with his uncle's misogynistic ways, no matter how cool he initially believes the guy to be. This is beautifully played out as Nick successfully interests the much older Andrea (Elizabeth Berkeley, "Showgirls") in a club, then gets a kiss from her friend Sophie (Jennifer Beals), charmed by the boy but turned off by Rodger. Rodger uses Nick to crash a party at Joyce's where he tries to convince the kid to lose his virginity with a drunk coworker, then awakens from an alcoholic blackout to a frantic phone call from his sister.
"Rodger Dodger" is drenched in New York City, from its cynical antihero in the city's most identifiable profession to the bustling streets and neighborhoods that encompass the seediest sex clubs to chic modern apartments guarded by suspicious doormen. Cinematographer Joaquin Baca-Asay ("Super Troopers") and editor Andy Keir ("Final") favor closeups balanced by long shots of busy city streets and achieve an urgent, jangly feel with kinetic cutting of handheld camerawork.
Kidd gets terrific acting (Isabella Rossellini, Jennifer Beals and Elizabeth Berkeley all make significant contributions), from his ensemble cast working from his razor sharp script (Kidd credits Scott for his dialogue and editing contributions) which only errs with an ending that's a little too cute and out of Rodger's element. Kidd and Scott have created one of the year's most memorable characters.
B+
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