FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
RODGER DODGER
DVD Features: Director's Preface to the DVD. Composer, Mixer, Producer,
Executive Producer & Director Interviews. Examination of a scene. Deleted Scene.
"New York at Night: The Roger Dodger Walking Tour with Eisenberg." Commentary by Kidd & Baca-Asay.
Commentary by Scott, Eisenberg & Kidd. Player's Guide to Scoring with Women. Trailer.
This dialogue-driven film begins with a sharp exchange between the cynical
Roger Swanson (Scott) and the unfortunate women who are the object of his
witty but failing pickup lines. The tone is set early, and the audience is
immediately drawn to and repulsed by Roger’s obnoxious ways. Soon, he is
paid a visit by his 16-year-old nephew, Nick (aptly played by Eisenberg),
from Ohio who wants to learn the ropes from his uncle. They bar hop through
Manhattan in the hope that Nick will gain both confidence and experience.
Campbell Scott is, as always, superb, and the supporting cast is certainly
first rate, which includes Isabella Rossellini and Jennifer Beals. And first
time writer/director Dylan Kidd definitely has a knack for rapid and clever
dialogue, but 105 minutes of very similar conversations–coupled with a
somewhat annoying hand-held camera style–wears a bit on the viewer.
While occasionally amusing, once you tire of Roger’s wit and realized that
Nick will ultimately discover that his uncle is hardly the ladies man he says
he is, you may begin to wonder exactly what Kidd is trying to say for the
rest of the film. Unless you are in the mood for a very narrow exploration of
a lonely 30-something pickup artist at his most misogynistic, this movie is
not worth renting or buying.
Michael Morley,
President of CineBLAST! Productions (Revolution #9, Bobby G. Can't Swim
& Spring Forward)
DVD Features: Two commentaries are offered when only one will suffice. For “film geeks,” Kidd and
Baca-Asay’s commentary is a “film school in a box,” while the actors’ facetious
commentary features Scott’s droll sense of humor. And in an interview, Kidd vigorously
defends the use of the shaky hand-held camera--to get the disorienting feeling of what it
would be like to be in a room with Roger. The extra that can be missed is the “New York
at Night” featurette. Eisenberg and actor Gabriel Millman haplessly improvise trying to
be funny, and they don’t even go to the real locations. KT
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