| Roger Dodger, one of the finest overlooked films of 2002, begins with the Roger of the title (Campbell Scott) explaining to his dinner companions how human evolution is making the male sex obsolete. It's one of the most fascinating restaurant conversations since Reservoir Dogs (1992), and the film doesn't flag from there.
Soon after, we're introduced to Nick, Roger's 16-year-old nephew, who asks his womanizing uncle to teach him how to be successful with women. Roger decides to take this challenge seriously, and the two of them set out with the avowed goal of ending Nick's virginity. Most of the rest of the film takes place over the course of a single night.
Whatever you do, don't mistake Roger Dodger for a coming-of-age sex comedy like American Pie (1999). This film is a brilliantly controlled character study of a profoundly cynical man who uses his skills as an advertising writer to talk women into bed with him. Roger's technique is extremely confrontational, taking inventory of the "victim's" weaknesses and revealing them to her, point blank. We are constantly astonished by the inappropriateness of some of the things he says, but are never 100 per cent sure that things aren't going precisely as he planned. Interestingly, we never see him succeed in making a new conquest, but there's no doubt that his method has worked many times in the past.
Roger doesn't really teach Nick so much as he throws him out of the nest to see if he can fly. Knowing that Nick's too timid to approach women, Roger sends one over to Nick's table, where she says, "Your uncle said you wanted to tell me something that'll blow my mind," forcing the boy to improvise. Quickly running out of the sort of lies his uncle would tell, Nick must fall back on revealing more about himself than he intended, causing female hearts to flutter, and Nick to realize that he has more to offer than he suspected.
The evening is also full of revelations for Roger himself, who begins to realize the extent of his own unhappiness – as the evening goes on, the task of turning Nick into a miniature version of himself begins to lose its appeal.
The performances are first-rate all around. Campbell Scott has already proven that he can easily carry a movie, and he's aided admirably by a fine supporting cast. Roger and Nick chat up two intelligent, vivacious women – it took me several minutes to recognize them as Jennifer Beals and Elizabeth Berkeley, two actresses who have appeared in less-than-great movies in the past, but who more than redeem themselves here. Of course, it helps that the script is of such high quality.
Combining the "worldly cynic takes boy under wing" plot of About a Boy (2002) with the "seducer's apprentice" concept of Swingers (1996), this film is a realistic yet unpredictable delight. Hopefully it will find the audience it deserves on home video.
MIDNIGHT MONTY PYTHON
Get your coconuts ready. Easter Weekend brings a series of special midnight screenings of the brilliant cult comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974). A brand new print of the Funniest Movie Ever will be shown at the Plaza Theatre from April 17 to 20. Be there, or be a daffy English knnniggit who has the brain of a duck, you know. |
Copyright ©2003 FFWD. All rights reserved.