One of my favorite subjects is the battle of the sexes. It's a topic important enough to provide ammunition as we maneuver through the everyday social battlefield, but also trivial enough to generate a lot of hot air. It fits my definition of fun.

By "battle of the sexes," I mean the degree to which men and women think they know each other and what the other sex wants out of life. I'm also including the natural tendency to counter arguments when someone implies he or she knows more about what you want than you do yourself. Roger Dodger lovingly illustrates the simultaneous usefulness and uselessness of this exercise. Although presented entirely from the male's point of view -- in this case from one male in particular, ad writer Roger (Campbell Scott, in a wonderful performance), it takes delight in skewering his carefully-formed suppositions while never entirely disproving his theories. 

In the early part of the movie, we learn Roger is a veteran analyst of the inner motives of men and women and the sexual politics they engage in. His keen insights can draw in fascinated female listeners, but his off-putting bravado just as easily drives them away. After his current lover gives him the old heave-ho, Roger finds his confidence in his knowledge of women shaken. However, he soon sees a chance to redeem himself when his out-of-town nephew, Nick (Jesse Eisenberg, also in a wonderful performance) suddenly appears in his office. The slightly geeky teenager has shown up for one reason and one reason only -- to get advice from the master himself concerning, you guessed it, how to pick up girls.

What follows involves an adventurous night spent in several literally dark Manhattan places. At first, Roger's forwardness and matter-of-fact logic prove effective -- getting the company of women is a breeze. However, getting something out of them is a different matter. Nick's youthful sweetness and yet-to-be-tainted romantic ideals prove appealing to the ladies as well as a surprise to Roger, one he won't readily accept.

Roger Dodger straightforwardly presents a student-besting-the-master situation -- Nick not only wins the hearts of the women, he also accomplishes this without demeaning them in the way Roger does. But the story works on a second level. Roger's rudeness may be disgusting to the girls, but he exudes an aggressive confidence that would be invaluable to Nick. When navigating through female territory, Roger's understanding of the natural tendencies and general emotional pitfalls of women would be useful. In other words, his knowledge is admirable, but the way he applies it is not. While Nick can learn from Roger's experience and approach, Roger can learn from Nick's genuine concern.   

In the end, Roger Dodger's lessons may or may not be valuable to everyone participating in the battle of the sexes, but it's fun watching them being imparted. The movie's ending (which I won't reveal) is priceless -- it suggests that Roger is partly starting over and partly unwilling to relinquish his status as a master. Everything he has learned up to this point has proven both useful and useless. What does Roger need? A few lessons from his own nephew, of course. 

(Review also posted at www.windowtothemovies.com.)

Released by Artisan Entertainment and rated "R" for sexual content and language.