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At the end of 2002, before Chicago became the frontrunner in the Oscar race, a little film called Roger Dodger won the National Board of Review's award for Best Actor. Though the film landed on a number of Top Ten lists and took home some other minor awards, it was largely forgotten in the Miramax grab-fest that could outspend Dodger's studio in every way.
Dodger is the kind of film that will really appeal to fans of Neil LaBute, David Mamet or any other filmmaker who holds dialogue in a higher regard than...well, anything. The NBR's Best Actor is Campbell Scott (Spring Forward), who plays Roger Swanson, a Manhattan advertising copywriter who says his job is to make people feel bad so they buy stuff. His knack for doing so has seeped into his personal life, where Roger effortlessly takes outrageous stances and contemptuously dissects women by, perhaps subconsciously, inferring they have the same problems he does (we don't really learn if he's ever right).
In other words, Roger possesses the gift of gab (his nickname and this film's title stem from his ability to talk his way out of any situation). He's an unlikable character, but one that we can't help but at least kind of root for because Roger can't help being this way any more than than J.Lo can help being conceited (or, more accurately, than Jason Patric can help being equally as cutting in Your Friends & Neighbors). He's the kind of guy you hate hanging out with or, at best, can only take in small doses when you're in the right mood.
One day, after being dumped by his lover-slash-boss (Isabella Rossellini, Empire), Roger is visited by his geeky 16-year-old nephew Nick (Jesse Eisenberg, The Emperor's Club), who is in town to interview at Columbia but is really there to get girl advice from his only uncle. What follows is a very interesting (and fairly misogynist) study into how men talk women into sleeping with them. Other than the slightly flawed (and fairly unbelievable) finale, everything else is top shelf, from the dark, colorful cinematography to Craig Wedren's score to the across-the-board success of the acting. The highlight, though, is the dialogue of first time writer-director Dylan Kidd, who has left me anxiously anticipating his next project.
1:44 - R for sexual content and language
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