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Roger Dodger
Studio: Artisan
Year: 2002
Rated: R
Film Length: 106 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16X9 Enhanced Widescreen (1.77:1)
Subtitles: English and French
The naked differences between men and women.
Meet Roger (Campbell Scott), an advertising executive
with a sharp tongue who has a knack for being able
to read people. He's a man who believes he knows
everything about manipulating women, bragging, "Words
are my stock in trade." Hit or miss, Roger never
gives up in his pursuit of women. He's a master
womanizer of the Manhattan singles' scene. His
technique is effective; he makes women feel terrible
about themselves, makes them believe they are
incomplete without him. The man can't be having
too successful of a streak, however, as his boss
(Isabella Rossellini) has just dumped him, leaving
Roger particularly frustrated.
Meet Roger's 16-year-old nephew, Nick (Jesse Eisenberg)
a geeky but charismatic kid who wants Uncle Roger to
teach him how to get chicks. If anyone can give him
the advice to sow his youthful wild oats then it
would be his wily and worldly Uncle Roger. Roger
accepts the opportunity and immediately trots him
out into the New York City night for a lesson in
high-wire seduction.
First stop is a singles bar where Roger and Nick
meet Sophie (Jennifer Beals) and Andrea (Elizabeth
Berkley), two very sexy ladies who seat themselves
at their table and for the next hour discuss the
philosophies of mating. Not so surprisingly, the
women are charmed by young Nick's innocence and
repulsed by his Uncle Roger, immediately seeing
his idiocy.
For the rest of the evening Uncle Nick treats his
nephew to a long night of bar-hopping as well as
a visit to a house of ill-repute, as the pure-hearted
Nick learns much more than he ever wanted to know
about the art of getting into trouble with the
opposite sex.
Directed by first-timer Dylan Kidd, Roger Dodger
is mostly a shaky handheld camera annoyance, but
Scott keeps the film afloat with well-flowing, snappy
dialogue and strong performances from its leading
actors. Campbell Scott is terrific as the manipulating,
womanizing Roger. Jesse Eisenberg is the epitome of
a normal testosterone driven male teenager (boy don't
we all remember those days).
How is the transfer?
I'm a little at odds with the overall quality of
this transfer. Most of the film takes place at
night and in dark interior settings. The problem
is, the film is just so overly dark that most of
its detail easily gets lost in the blackness. When
you combine this with the constant shake of the
handheld camera, the film fails to become visually
appealing. Colors seem to be vibrant and well
represented while picture sports just a hint of
background grain. Not one of the best transfers
I have seen, but it will do.
I was most pleased with the film's lively 5.1 Dolby
Digital mix that sounds wide open with excellent
sound direction. Dialogue sits firmly in the center
while the fronts provide ample sound support. The
rears keep themselves busy throughout the film
providing the much welcomed ambient sounds of party
and nightclub crowds as well as background noises of
Manhattan city traffic. It's a nice added touch that
really helps with the film's story.
Special Features
There are two audio commentaries included
on this DVD. The first is with writer/director
Dylan Kidd and director of photography, Joaquín
Baca-Asay.
The second commentary is with director Dylan Kidd
and cast members Campbell Scott and Jesse Eisenberg.
This was the commentary track I chose to sample.
Campbell sounds just as obnoxious as his on-screen
character, and the entire group spend the entire
time being more silly than really providing any
in-depth information. Jumping around the various
tracks i could hear the group talking about some
of the deleted scenes and the fact that Campbell
was such a habitual smoker that it had to be worked
into the film as he couldn't film a scene without
having a cigarette in hand.
Director's preface to the DVD is a personal
introduction by director Dylann Kidd who thanks us
"geeks" for taking the time to look into this section
in which he promises to be "a fllm school in a box."
The composer and the mixer introduces us to
Craig Wedren who talks about the process of writing
music for a film that wasn't supposed to have any
in the first place. The one scene that uses the
highest concentration of music in the film is the
brothel scene, and Wedren explains how he came up
with the melody and the beat, only to throw it to
his mixer who put together the final product.
(length: approx. 7 minutes)
The Producer spotlights Anne Chaisson, who
talks about how she and Kidd met and shot a short
film that won a few awards. They were to meet again
when Chaisson read Kidd's Roger Dodger. Anne
goes on to talk about her passions for Independent
film.
(length: approx. 3 minutes)
The Executive Producer and the Director is
a conversation between Kidd and executive producer
George Van Buskirk. Buskirk talks about how he met
the director and talks about some of the exciting
unique approaches that were brought to this film
through its characters and handheld camera photography.
(length: approx. 5 minutes)
Explanation of a Scene: Opaline takes us to
a bar that was closed while being put up for sale,
which enabled the filmmakers the opportunity to
spend several days lensing the lengthy scenes with
Beals and Berkley. We hear from the film's casting
director who talks about the prescreening audition
process that most actors go through. Things get
sort of lengthy as we hear from the Script Supervisor,
Production Designer, Hair Stylist, Make-up Artist,
Costume Designer and Art Director. Stick with it for
as long as you possibly can.
(length: approx. 12 minutes)
New York at Night: the Roger Dodger Walking Tour
with Jesse Eisenberg is a total waste of everyone's
time. It begins with what looks to be a walking
tour of all the film's location spots in Manhattan,
that is, until another actor appears on the scene
and turns the entire bit into complete teenage
stupidity.
(length: approx. 7 minutes)
Deleted scene: The cafeteria was an additional
sequence that was supposed to appear towards the
beginning of the film to establish a sort of "before"
and "after" presence. The clip is in unfinished
form, runs just under three minutes, and can be
viewed with or without optional commentary by the
director.
Player's Guide to Scoring with Women may
not be as good as those mail-order books you have
been eyeing. It's basically text of dialogue from
the mouth of womanizer Roger Swanson.
Finally, the film's original theatrical trailer
is included here.
Final Thoughts
For the most part I enjoyed Roger Dodger mostly
for its witty dialogue and perverse psychological
observations. It's a hilarious look at the male ego
at work in the singles scene.
The never-so-reliable Artsian has given us a
feature-enriched DVD with a rather decent (but dark)
transfer.
Worth a rental!
Release Date: NOW
All screen captures have been further compressed.
They are for illustrative purposes only and do not
represent actual picture quality
