Roger Dodger

Set in Manhattan, ROGER DODGER takes a comic look at the male ego and the art of manipulating women. Campbell Scott stars as Roger, a sharp-witted advertising copywriter who can talk his way into skirt. Which is exactly why his nephew, Nick, pays him a visit. W ith Nick's virginity at stake, Roger takes him out for a one-night crash course in seduction, only to realize he still has quite a l ot to learn about women...and himself.

Campbell Scott bristles, burns, and sneers as Roger, a would-be smoothie who gets jilted by his older lover (who also happens to be his boss at an advertising agency). When his teenage nephew Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) appears at his office the next day, hoping for lessons in how to deal with the ladies, Roger uses his nephew partly as a foil, partly as a prop as he vents his anger and unhappiness on women in a scathing tour of bars and parties. A sharp script and multidimensional performances make Roger Dodger more than a standard war-of-the-sexes diatribe. Scott (Big Night, The Spanish Prisoner) doesn't ask for sympathy and doesn't allow for pity--his award-winning performance as Roger has defiance and dignity, whether the character is spitting bile or humiliating himself. Featuring strong supporting performances from Eisenberg, Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet), Jennifer Beals (In the Soup), and (surprise) Elizabeth Berkley (Showgirls). --Bret Fetzer