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September Film of the Month Club: ROGER DODGER and LONGTIME COMPANION

post #1 of 23
9/1/10 at 9:39pm
Thread Starter 
aka "A Salute to Campbell Scott, Thespian."

Watch this space.
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post #2 of 23
9/2/10 at 1:28am
Great, i'll get them
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post #3 of 23
9/2/10 at 1:39am
Fascinating selections!

I *love* Roger Dodger", the writing and acting are razor sharp, and Campbell Scott delivers an iconic performance as the titular 'Dodger'.

I saw this film when I was like 15 or so and working in a movie theater, and it was enormously exciting to see a film unfold and be fairly gripping while telling a rather small story and doing it on a low budget.

Scott is, as far as I'm concerned, a titan of the acting world, but no where is he better than in this film. It's a showy performance, but he's completely magnetic every second he's on screen

I recently had the honor to meet Campbell Scott a few times, and he now even knows my name (something that I can barely imagine). It was one of the only times in my entire life where I've ever been star struck. I can only point to Roger Dodger as my excuse

PS RD introduced Jesse Eisenberg to the world, and he appears ready to blow up in a big way with TSN in October. I'm excited.

I have not seen LONGTIME COMPANION, but I will have to NETFLIX it.
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post #4 of 23
9/5/10 at 9:42pm
Fuck,
when i posted that i was drunk. Had no memory of this thread haha.

I'll really get them now.
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post #5 of 23
9/18/10 at 9:26pm
I didn't like Longtime Companion.
I think it's a relevant film for the time it was made, and a brave one.
But it's not good. I found it to be tacky, poorly acted and put together.

The only stand out performance for me was Bruce Davison. While i honestly found Mary Louis Parker (whom i love) to be just terrible in it.

Campbell is decent. But he's not really showing much. The only scene there's a hint of something good behind his performance is the eulogy scene.
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post #6 of 23
9/18/10 at 9:30pm
I have not yet seen LTC, but I will do so before the month is out. Did you catch RD, Tati?
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post #7 of 23
9/19/10 at 1:22pm
Thread Starter 
Things Tati is wrong about that I wish I could school him on but I'm at work: LONGTIME COMPANION.
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post #8 of 23
9/19/10 at 1:25pm
I just didn't find a strong narrative to hold together the stories presented.
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post #9 of 23
9/19/10 at 2:47pm
Thread Starter 
I can see that, now that I've had some time to think about it. Feel free to tell me I'm a presumptuous twat, but it might also be a cultural thing. The AIDS crisis in America and our government's response to it is one of the blackest marks in our nation's cultural history, and I think the film, made when it was, assumes the audience has a basic knowledge of the crisis.

Now that the crisis is "over" in America, a lot of the history has been allowed to be forgotten, especially as Reagan's disciples codify him as one of the greatest presidents ever, despite the fact he let thousands of Americans die on his watch simply because they were gay, or drug addicts, and that he wouldn't even acknowlege the crisis when one of his closest friends was dying of the disease. (Wow, that was both Princess Kate-ian and Cuchalin-y. Good job, me.)

Anyway, as a pretty militant supporter of gay rights and of AIDS awareness living in New York (one of the cities hit hardest by AIDS), the film hits me because, while it has sappy moments, it also does an excellent job of showing the "before" and "after." Those years between 1981 and the late 90s fundamentally changed the way we view sexuality in this country, and was a devastating blow to the gay rights movement, one from which it's still recovering from. Not just because so many gay rights leaders, like Bill Kraus*, died of AIDS, but because of the stigma of the disease as a "gay cancer."

And one of the marvelous things about the movie is how unafraid it is at presenting the gay men. Compare this to the pretty chaste PHILADELPHIA, for example. Here, it's clear that the men are having sex and are in romantic relationships, etc., and they're not desexualized like they are in a lot of films. Although I do fault the film for not presenting a more varied portrayal of the gay men, because they're all white and successful, for the most part. Perhaps more about that later...

I'm rambling, but I think one of the things the film gets absolutely right is that scene at the end on the beach. It's a big moment, but it's also one of the only instances I can think of in a drama film that truly shows what I was discussing above, and that's the utter cost of AIDS, and watching that crowd on the beach...the senslessness of that loss of life hits me hard, and it always leaves me a little bit angry.

If you liked this, or you want to find out more about the context, I can't recommend AND THE BAND PLAYED ON by Randy Shilts enough. Easily one of the best books I've ever read, and an absolutely essential book. There's also the HBO miniseries adaptation of ANGELS IN AMERICA, which is more fantastical yet more grounded in its own way than LONGTIME COMPANION can be. Plus, it's got Al Pacino's last great performance.

*Played by Sir Ian McKellen in the just-okay adaptation of AND THE BAND PLAYED ON...
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post #10 of 23
9/19/10 at 3:18pm
I can see those points and that's why i called the film important and brave. I do think the message is there. But it wasn't presented well enough. At least for me. And i kinda hated that last scene you mention. Found it to be too sappy.
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post #11 of 23
9/19/10 at 3:22pm
Thread Starter 
There are sappy elements to it, I can admit that. But what that scene illustrates -- the cost -- far overshadows them for me.
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post #12 of 23
9/21/10 at 3:27pm
2 of us?
Every one else bailed on this? Too gay for ya?
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post #13 of 23
9/21/10 at 3:40pm
Campbell Scott gives a great performance in it, I think. And the final is scene is just heartbreaking and so well done.

You Campbell Scott fans should give Invasion a.k.a. Top of the Food Chain a try. Little seen, weird, and pretty funny flick. Campbell is NUTTY in it. Kind of a cousin of Lost Skeleton.
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post #14 of 23
9/21/10 at 3:44pm
I saw Longtime Companion when it was released, but I don't remember a ton. Might not revisit it for this. But I only recently saw Rodger Dodger and thought it was a really nice spin on the "night in the life/coming of age" genre. Campbell Scott is a great asshole.
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post #15 of 23
9/21/10 at 5:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tati View Post
2 of us?
Every one else bailed on this? Too gay for ya?
Tati... as stated, I've also seen one of the CFOTMC selections for this month already, and intend to watch LTC
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post #16 of 23
9/22/10 at 1:21pm
I've been busy, so I've waited to comment.
Longtime Companion is terribly dated and it suffers from everyone trying to mine material that was paper-thin to start.

Rodger Dodger is a simple coming-of-age comedy that's anchored by Scott. I can't really attest to Eisenberg being that strong of a draw. Until "A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon" gets a proper DVD release, this will have to do.

One can only hope that next month will be a little stronger.
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post #17 of 23
9/26/10 at 2:37am
Saw Roger Dodger.
Scott was Don Drapering before Mad Men existed!

It was good. But not great. It de-constructs the character right off the bat and he has no arc whatsoever.
The first scene he is in total command of the group and seen as someone with a powerful mind. Then 4 minutes after that Isabella Rosellini cuts his balls off and he's shown as the child he is. The ending with him with the kids at the high school was great, that's the only audience that could buy his crap. His way of life or his reasoning.

Eisenberg's first big screen role! And he's Eisenberging it.

Elizabeth Berkeley is incredibly hot. Might have to finally watch Showgirls.
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post #18 of 23
9/26/10 at 3:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tati View Post
Saw Roger Dodger.
Scott was Don Drapering before Mad Men existed!

It was good. But not great. It de-constructs the character right off the bat and he has no arc whatsoever.
I beg to differ. One small line on the morning after - Eisenberg tells him you "said (x*)" and Roger throws off the "I say a lot of things" line....I think, at that point, he realize just how utterly full of shit he is, and has been, through his adult life.

Credit to Scott (and director Kidd) that they let this utterly important moment lie as performed.

Quote:

Elizabeth Berkeley is incredibly hot. Might have to finally watch Showgirls.
Oh, the women in this movie. This is the first thing I'd seen Jennifer Beals in since Flashdance...all I can say is, uh, Wow. And Berkeley and Rosselini aren't ugly either.

One thing I absolutely have to recommend is that this film has a TERRIFIC DVD commentary; if you have the time/inclination, a listen will completely improve your appreciation of the movie.

* - don't quite remember what "x" was and it isn't important anyway
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post #19 of 23
9/27/10 at 9:01pm
I'm taking October. Think Hitler.
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post #20 of 23
9/27/10 at 11:42pm
Fun Hitler or Sad Hitler?
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post #21 of 23
9/27/10 at 11:47pm
Both!
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post #22 of 23
9/28/10 at 3:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tati View Post
Both!
The Producers and Downfall.
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post #23 of 23
9/28/10 at 8:05am
Close.
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CHUD.com Community › Forums › SPECIFIC FILMS › Films in Release or On Video › September Film of the Month Club: ROGER DODGER and LONGTIME COMPANION