Roger Dodger
BBB.5
(out of 5)
Campbell Scott plays a heartless business executive who gets a bit of a surprise when his teen nephew (Jesse Eisenberg) shows up at his Manhattan office and asks to stay with him for the weekend. Thinking his uncle a total success as a ladies’ man, the young boy asks Scott to help him in the romance department. This leads to a night out in Manhattan bars looking for easy scores; through conversations with strangers and with each other, the two realize just how much the elder still has to learn about life and love and how much more the younger knew than he realized. Pristine acting and heartfelt characters keep this interesting character study from ever become annoying or self-indulgently bitter. Jennifer Beals and Elizabeth Berkley have the film’s best sequence as two women who meet the boys in a bar and actually become intrigued in getting to know them.
USA, 2002
Directed by Dylan Kidd
Screenplay by Dylan Kidd
Cinematography by Joaquin Baca-Asay
Produced by Anne Chaisson, Dylan Kidd, George VanBuskirk
Music by Craig Wedren
Production Design by Stephen Beatrice
Costume Design by Amy Westcott
Film Editing by Andy Keir
Film Festivals: TIFF 2002
Cast Tags: Ato Essandoh, Ben Shenkman, Campbell Scott, Chris Stack, Colin Fickes, Courtney Simon, Elizabeth Berkley, Flora Diaz, Gabriel Millman, Isabella Rossellini, Jennifer Beals, Jesse Eisenberg, Juliet Morgan, Libby Larson, Lisa Emery, Michelle Six, Mina Badie, Morena Baccarin, Peter Appel, Stephanie Gatschet, Tommy Savas
New York Film Critics Award
Best First Film
Nomination
Best Screenplay (Dylan Kidd)
National Board Of Review Awards
Best Actor (Campbell Scott)
Special Recognition, for excellence in filmmaking
Independent Spirit Award Nominations
Best Male Lead (Campbell Scott)
Best Screenplay
Best First Feature
