Roger Dodger (2002)

After breaking up with his lover and boss, a smooth-talking man takes his teenaged nephew out on the town in search of sex.

Director:

Dylan Kidd

Writer:

Dylan Kidd

Stars:

Campbell Scott, Jesse Eisenberg, Isabella Rossellini

14 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Campbell Scott	...	Roger Swanson
Jesse Eisenberg	...	Nick
Isabella Rossellini	...	Joyce
Elizabeth Berkley	...	Andrea
Jennifer Beals	...	Sophie
Mina Badie	...	Donna
Ben Shenkman	...	Donovan
Chris Stack	...	Chris
Morena Baccarin	...	Girl in Bar
Lisa Emery	...	Woman in Bar
Flora Diaz	...	Young Working Girl
Stephanie Gatschet	...	Angela - High School Beauty
Colin Fickes	...	Angus
Tommy Savas	...	Darren
Gabriel Millman	...	Felix

Storyline

Set against the bright lights of Manhattan, a tale which takes a comic, urbane look at the modern male ego at war in the singles scene trenches. Roger Swanson is a hopelessly cynical advertising copywriter with a razor-sharp wit who believes he has mastered the art of manipulating women. But Roger's seemingly foolproof world of smooth talk and casual sex begins to unravel when he is paid a surprise visit by his teenager nephew, Nick. Hoping to settle, once and for all, the issue of his virginity, Nick begs Roger to school him in the art of seducing women. Welcoming the challenge, Roger guides Nick through the city's wild nightlife for an all-night crash course, only to realize that he--the adult--still has something to learn about what women, and men, really want.

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Plot Keywords:

sex | casual sex | male ego | ohio | advertising | 

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Taglines:

The naked differences between men and women.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

6 March 2003 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Cosa de hombres

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$47,431 (USA) (25 October 2002)

Gross:

$1,260,761 (USA) (17 January 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Holedigger Films, Roger Dodger LLC

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jesse Eisenberg was sick during the filming of most of the nightclub scene, and can be seen sweating in different parts of the scene from his illness.

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Quotes

Roger: I could tell you that what you think of as your personality is nothing but a collection of Vanity Fair articles. I could tell you your choice of sexual partners this evening was decided months ago by some account executive at Young & Rubicam. I could tell you that given a week to study your father and the ways in which he ignores you I could come up with a schtick you'd be helpless to resist. Helpless.

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Crazy Credits

All fur in this film is fake.

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Connections

Referenced in The Bet (2007)

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Soundtracks

"You Can't Hold Me Back"
Performed by Joanne Tatham
Written by Barry Coffing, Marc Hugenberger and Julius Robinson
Barry Coffing Music/BMI Tripty Music/BMI Project R Music/BMI
Courtesy of Uprising Entertainment

User Reviews

It's Jesse Eisenberg! Great Little Movie.

I saw this movie back in 2002 at the Austin Film Festival. It featured the first two films from the up and coming actor Jesse Eisenberg, who as we all know is up for Best Actor for his portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in "The Social Network" at this years Academy Awards. Eisenberg had a supporting role is his other film "The Emperor's Club" that starred Kevin Kline.

Watching this film I was struck with a bit of déjà vu. Eisenberg's character of Nick is a fast talking, awkward computer geek. Go figure. Then when you start to look at all his other roles, it seems he has contracted "Michael Cera Syndrome". He has seems to play the exact same character in every film he is in. So I guess its no surprise that he was nominated for his work in "The Social Network" since he has been slowly perfecting the role for almost ten years. On the other hand Campbell Scott gives a remarkable performance as Roger, an even faster talking, New York City copy writer for an advertising firm. He is nicknamed Roger Dodger for his ability to talk is way out of anything. He is a single womanizer almost on the level of Charlie Sheen. One day he is visited at work by his nephew Nick. At Nicks request he gets a crash course on picking up women he won't soon forget.

This film also stars a trio of talented actresses. Isabella Rossellini plays Roger's boss whom she's having an affair with. Jennifer Beals and Elizabeth Berkley play the women they meet at a night club. Coming off the infamous "Showgirls" disaster, Berkley was actually in attendance and took questions about her role in this film. The audience was quite respectful.

While Roger uses every trick up is sleeve to manipulate women and boost his ego. Nick is so truthful and pure hearted he always seems to be a wet blanket on Rogers plans to get them some action. This also makes Roger come off as more of a creepy sleaze ball than usual. The opening scene features a very interesting discussion on the ever declining need that women have for men. It's a theme that plays out quite well during the film. While the last part of the movie goes to some pretty dark places and things start to get all too real. Can Roger change his ways? Will men serve greater purpose in the future? This movie was directed by Dylan Kidd and won Best Feature at the very first Tribeca Film Festival. It was also the first movie to be shot in New York City after the September 11th attacks. The DVD is loaded with some pretty sweet special features so pick it up!