As if sprung like an unformed child from the good intentions of Nick Hornby and the more sinister ones of Neil LaBute, writer/director Dylan Kidd's film takes you on a night of debauchery with Campbell Scott and 1000 cigarettes. Scott's Roger (he "dodges" life) is the "boy" of a powerful woman who is also his boss, and Joyce would be the conventional ballbuster if she weren't played by Isabella Rossellini. When she dumps him for anther "boy," Roger acts out by taking his virginal teen nephew Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) on the town to teach him about women and sex.

Kidd delivers some smart dialogue, and the interaction between Scott and Eisenberg keeps things lively. But the story is as tired as the unpleasant whiff of misogyny: besides Joyce, we get nameless hookers in a seedy whorehouse and a pair of barflies (Jennifer Beals and Elizabeth Berkley) who generously provide Nick with a chaste sexual education. The female character who is, apparently, the source of Roger's anger and insecurity is his sister, Nick's mom, but Kidd plays their reunion off screen, missing the chance to develop both characters and up the dramatic ante. Tension and motivation may not be as sexy as snappy repartee, cigarettes, and Scotch, but they sure can elevate a movie from pretentious posturing. (104 minutes) At the Castle.