Just perfect...

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Saw this one with a friend, knew close to nothing about it. It starts out pretty bad. The opening scene is not good. The acting was close to embarrassing to watch, did not seem real at all. Almost cringe worthy. It's not that it's horrible, but it misses the mark, and in this type of movie, that's a disaster.It does get a little better, but I did not like some of the performances by the main cast. Rossellini? Not good at all.What saves this movie is Jesse Eisenberg, basically. And some of the "theories" and speeches given by Roger himself. There are some pretty good life lessons here! But the cinematography and general look of the movie I did not like. Looks cheap and sort of amateurish.when you get into it, there are some pretty good parts, and Mr. Eisenberg adds a lot. If the problems with the movie had been fixed, it would be a lot better.

How would you teach a teenager (who may or may not talk too much), about dating and other things that might follow a successful date? Here's one way to do it and there's a lot of dialog. While it's male based and dominated mostly, you do get a bit of a woman perspective on things during the many conversations that take place. Still could there be more of that? Always.Jesse Eisenberg is now very well known of course, one of the reason this was recently released for the first time on DVD in Germany (12 years after it was made!). You can tell by the casting of Elizabeth Berkley that at the time she was popular and tried to do something different. A movie that aims to explain a couple of things, but can't really help everybody or give all the answers. You have to experience things for yourself and especially be yourself ...

You know you are watching a winner when you find yourself hating the lead characters, feeling sorry for another, and getting mad at yet more. In my book if you get emotionally involved with a story, the story is good!This movie covers some darker sides of life and is expertly symbolized through the photography. Many scenes are dark, shadowy, and out of focus. When we are in Rogers world everything is fuzzy, dark, ill defined, and turbulent. Nick willfully jumps into his uncles lifestyle believing he's experiencing life. We (the viewers) know otherwise, but Nick is unwilling to jump off the sinking ship of his uncles life. When we enter Nicks world after he goes back home, suddenly all is bright and colorful. And we see how out of place Roger is in Nicks world.The last five minutes of the film is the defining moments of Rogers character. He has never grown up, he's still sophomoric as seen how he relates to Nicks friends. Physically an adult, mentally still a bombastic sophomore.An excellent movie for film lovers!

This is a worthwhile film, but when it started out I didn't like it. I didn't like Roger, the main character, and was irritated by his friends and environment, so I thought it was going to be a pointless exercise to watch the rest of it. However, nothing good was on TV, so I hung in there and about 20 minutes in I got into the rhythm of the piece.Roger's 16-year-old nephew Nick shows up and he takes him on the town to try and get him laid. The plot is not that fresh but it's really handled in a nice way. Nick is appealingly played and the dialogue is realistic and original. Despite the potential for a by-the-numbers plot, Roger's own sexual baggage colouring his relationship with his nephew create good internal conflict. This is handled in a subtle, understated way which is a tribute to the writer/director. He always pulls back from the cheap sentimental shot, while still managing to realise his objectives by the back door. Don't be put off by the rather stilted start to the film - I don't think it's the triumph other viewers seem to make out, but it's a cool little movie with an air of honesty about it.