Roger Swenson is the indifferent and cynical director of Manhattan's advertising industry. He had just been cheated by his boss and lover when he met his nephew Nick, a high school student who came to defect to him. Nick is going for a college interview. He came to Roger under the guise of visiting relatives, but with the development of the plot, we discovered Nick's true purpose: he needs Roger to teach him the knack of cross-border love.
Roger placed Nick under his shelter and took him to the nightclub to meet two beautiful women. But things did not develop in the expected way. Obviously, Roger's understanding of the opposite sex was not as good as he touted, and he did not understand the role that men should play in life.
This debut work by Dylan Kidd talks about misogyny, insecurities, and hypocritical traits of some men, which is reminiscent of Neil LaBute's work.
"Shocking Sex Education" is a film about the crisis of masculinity. The core characters in the film possess a set of subtle rhetoric (revel in specious skills, feel that they can "understand" female psychology) and weak moral concepts. He wants to transform into a charismatic "super macho", but this is just because he is worried that male reproduction will be eliminated because of obsolescence (Roger had a wonderful discussion on this issue at the beginning of the film).
Roger, played by Scott, is very smart. His cynical rhetoric supports the whole film, but behind this is a timid man who fears intimacy. Roger's ideas and actions may be condemned, but his arrogance means that we often cannot help but want to warm him. This also makes us understand that he is undoubtedly able to attract certain opposite sexes. Nick played by Jesse Eisenberg sets off the protagonist very well: innocent, but possesses the passion and kindness that Roger lacks.
Kidd’s script is witty and witty, and some of his eloquent monologues and dilemmas are very delicate. Although this sometimes means that the film is in danger of falling back to the dramatic style, Kidd tried hard to maintain the vitality and interest of the story.
The urban background of Manhattan is as cold and ruthless as Roger's psychological manipulation. Kidd’s shots are often followed from across the street, or from other dining tables. This way of shooting is like he is sneaking close to our protagonist. This sense of eavesdropping highlights the improper nature of the film's intended expression: men often spy on women maliciously, but they are better at hiding. However, female roles are far from being marginalized.
On the whole, women are not just the kind of existence Roger described in his tirade. Roger's eloquence sometimes makes the film unbalanced, but this kind of performance also saves the narrative and saves the film from falling into the doctrine of the doctrine (the final part will of course make you think about the lessons learned by the protagonists). This also makes this film portray an intriguing portrait of masculinity at the beginning of the 21st century.
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