Roger Dodger (2002)
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 122
Fresh: 107 | Rotten: 15
The movie could have benefited from a more experienced director, but a great cast and script overcome any first time jitters the director may have had.
Average Rating: 7.3/10
Critic Reviews: 33
Fresh: 29 | Rotten: 4
The movie could have benefited from a more experienced director, but a great cast and script overcome any first time jitters the director may have had.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 7,687
Movie Info
Writer/director Dylan Kidd got a chance to make his script for Roger Dodger into a feature film when he boldly approached Campbell Scott in a café in Greenwich Village and made his pitch. Eventually, Scott would agree to executive produce and star in the film, and was responsible for bringing Jennifer Beals and Isabella Rossellini onboard. Scott stars as the eponymous Roger, a successful New York ad man and self-proclaimed master of reading and manipulating women. The film begins with Roger out
Nov 1, 2002 Limited
Mar 18, 2003
$1.2M
Artisan Entertainment
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Campbell Scott
Roger -
Jesse Eisenberg
Nick -
Isabella Rossellini
Joyce -
Elizabeth Berkley
Andrea -
Jennifer Beals
Sophie -
Ben Shenkman
Donovan -
Mina Badie
Donna -
Chris Stack
Chris -
Morena Baccarin
Rachel girl in bar -
-
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (134) | Top Critics (36) | Fresh (107) | Rotten (15) | DVD (24)
A fascinating, uneven first feature from the young writer-director Dylan Kidd.
We journey from appreciating Roger as the ideal over-drinks conversationalist to someone we would cross the street to avoid.
Scott's low-key portrayal makes Roger interesting.
Campbell Scott, in the role of a lifetime, brushes past all the built-in limitations, seizes the role -- and us -- and turns it into a genuine tour de force.
Doesn't really add up to much.
Roger Dodger is an impressive first-time effort by Dylan Kidd, the director and writer. But like the teen in the movie who is trying to lose his virginity, the film never quite scores.
Top CriticScott's hilariously hateful hauteur is able to counteract some falsely fuzzy notes in the ending.
Some have condemned this film for 'filthy content.' That's like condemning a hospital for being a place of disease. Kidd deals with 'filth' the way a surgeon treats a tumor.
The dialogue addresses our expectations, gets us laughing and stops the movie from becoming too obvious a character study.
Kidd's story is a bitter pill to swallow - many will find the portrayal of Roger as some kind of hero bizarre.
Blatantly arrogant, unapologetically misogynistic, morally repugnant, and absolutely hypnotic. All these descriptions and more can be applied to the character of Roger Swanson (Campbell Scott)
Kidd says he wants the extras to act as a 'film school in a box,' but the overall effect is more 'it takes a village,' indie-style ...
...Rogers's mouth never stops shut about the war between the sexes and how to win the battle.
Other than the slightly flawed (and fairly unbelievable) finale, everything else is top shelf.
The best American debut since Reservoir Dogs.
Sharply written by Dylan Kidd.
Dylan Kidd writes quotable dialogue and monologues that have the muscle of early Mamet without the attendant sameness of every character.
Roger Dodger is an enjoyably bruising tale of the inflated male ego that takes a hammering thanks to a little ironic justice.
An older cad instructs a younger lad in Zen and the art of getting laid in this prickly indie comedy of manners and misanthropy.
Quite the most shocking thing about this out-to-shock indie is the discovery that it was shot on film, not on video. I wasn't even aware that it was possible to make film look this amateurishly bad.
There is greatness here.
Campbell Scott finds the ideal outlet for his flick-knife diction in the role of Roger Swanson.
...there is an unflinching quality to the film that makes it impossible to dismiss as just another character study of an unhappy man
What sounds on the surface like another generic sex comedy is actually a bitingly funny character study.
Audience Reviews for Roger Dodger
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
-
- Nick: What is this?
- Roger: Rum and coke. I told him to mix it weak. We got a long way to go here.
- Nick: Okay. I don't drink.
- Roger: You kidding me? Take a drink.
- Nick: I don't put alcohol into my body.
- Roger: You drink that drink.
-
- Roger: You drink that drink! Alcohol has been a social lubricant for thousands of years. What do you think, you're going to sit here tonight and reinvent the wheel?
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for Roger Dodger yet.
What's Hot On RT
Pictures from a zombie nation
Woody Allen in San Francisco
See the Desolation of Smaug trailer!
Where does This Is the End rank?
Latest News on Roger Dodger
July 8, 2005:
Trailer Bulletin: The Exorcism of Emily RoseHead on over to the film's official site for your first look at the trailer to "The Exorcism of...
Fresh Links
Featured
Movie: ID: 16578 Title: Roger Dodger Release Date: 2002-11-01 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1
The Looks of Johnny Depp
To celebrate the star's birthday, BuzzSugar looks at the many faces of Johnny Depp.
10 Egregious Product Placements
Rolling Stone wonders if The Internship goes too far... then provides 10 examples of movies that did.
Horror Movie Mistakes
Moviefone offers up 8 of the most obvious glaring errors in popular fright flicks.
10 Bad Movies That Look Great
Sometimes even terrible movies can be beautiful; here are 10 of them, from HitFix.
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Featured on RT
- Video Interviews with Cast & Crew of Monsters University 0
- Digital Multiplex: 21 & Over, Quartet, and More 1
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Jack the Giant Slayer and Quartet 23
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Man of Steel Sets June Record 101
- Weekly Ketchup: Man of Steel Sequel In the Works 194
- Five Favorite Films with Joss Whedon 127
- Bonus Footage of the Cast & Crew of Man of Steel 1
Top Headlines
