Jesse Eisenberg certainly hasn’t written an attractive part for himself in his debuting playwriting effort, now being presented by the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. In his dark comedy Asuncion, the Oscar-nominated star of The Social Network plays Edgar, a journalistic blogger whose reformist ideals are undercut by his clueless political correctness. The sort of spineless twerp who excuses the youths who keep mugging him because of their lower social standing, he also continually debases himself in his strange, sadomasochistic relationship with his roommate Vinny (Justin Bartha).

Vinny, working for a PhD in Black Studies, is a carefree, pot-smoking ne’er do well who likes to hang out in his bathrobe and bang out rhythms on his bongo drums. But he also displays a truly nasty side, particularly towards Vinny, who seems to be in sexual thrall to him.

The two men find their lives uprooted by the arrival of Edgar’s successful older brother Stuart (Remy Auberjonois) and his beautiful new Filipino bride Asuncion (Camille Mana). Stuart asks that the pair babysit Asuncion for a few days while he takes care of some mysterious business. In one of the play’s more contrived plot elements, he apparently feels that the duo’s messy bachelor pad apartment is the perfect hiding place.

Vinny is delighted by the new arrival, but Edgar, hearing that his brother met Asuncion on the Internet, assumes that she is either a sex slave or mail order bride, and determines to interview her for what he feels will be his journalistic breakthrough.

Eisenberg has some interesting ideas to express here about cultural clashes and underlying prejudices, and he also displays a knack for crafting sharply funny one-liners. But he’s less successful in terms of dramatic structure and narrative credibility, with the result that the play never successfully coheres, wandering off in too many disparate directions.

Still, under the breezy direction of Kip Fagan the evening is quite entertaining, with both Eisenberg and Bartha delivering terrifically amusing performances. The latter in particular is a droll delight, investing his portrayal with enough daffy physical humor to suggest that he’s been wasted in the hugely successful Hangover movies. Mana is charming as the fun-loving Asuncion, and Auberjonois is suitably smarmy as the condescending brother.

Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce St. 212-352-3101. www.Rattlestick.org.