Written &
Directed By: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Rated R for strong
graphic sexual material and dialogue throughout, nudity, language and some drug
use
Release Date:
September 27th, 2013
Review by: Sean
Kayden
Joseph Gordon Levitt makes his
directorial debut with “Don Jon.” The thespian also wrote and stars in it. In the film, JGL portrays the title
role of a modern day lothario who can pretty much get any girl he wants on a
night-to-night basis. The problem is he’s only truly satisfied by the women he
sees in porn. His expectations of women lie within the videos he views multiple
times on a daily basis. While viewing pornography, he “loses himself.” It’s
something that in fact has never occurred with a real life woman for him. “Don
Jon” attempts to explore the world of pornography, men and women, and
relationships. However, it only touches upon these different subjects and
rarely does it dig deeper than surface level.
Jon cares about only a few things
in life: his boys, his girls, his family, his body, his church, and his porn.
The latter becomes an issue when he scores with a girl (Scarlett Johansson) he
calls “the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.” Once she discovers his little
secret, she will have no part of him. He has a logical excuse for it and for
the time being, she buys it. In the movie, Jon navigates boyfriend territory,
beloved son, gym enthusiast, and student. Johansson’s character has Jon take a
night class because she prefer for him to have a suit & tie job rather than
a food service one (bartender). In the end, we realize this woman is very
taxing with her demands. Scarlet Johansson is certainly adequate in her role,
but it’s not as if she needs to go above and beyond. Other scenes depict Jon at
church always asking for forgiveness when he has sex out of wedlock. It becomes
comical as the priest always tells him practically the same thing. Then there’s
his family life. Jon is actually very similar to his father, played by Tony
Danza. His father looks at women the same way as his son and they both
communally posses a random temper (several scenes within the film where Jon is
screaming at passing drivers on the road). Despite a constantly moving camera
and a film bursting with high energy, the film starts to deflate toward the
half way mark. It picks up here and there, however, while there’s nothing
erroneous to point out, the road it travels on isn’t as fascinating as I was
eagerly hoping for.
When Jon attends his night classes, introduced is Julianne Moore’s character. At first they don’t really get off to a good start despite a considerate effort on her part. Once Jon’s relationship with his girlfriend starts to deteriorate, the two of them start up an unlikely friendship that leads to unlikely intercourse. Keep in mind, Jon is always hooking up with women around his age and now finds himself attracted to a middle-aged woman. In fact, what he sees in her and most of all feels when with her doesn’t hold a candle to women of his past. Moore is always great, but she doesn’t really have a whole lot to work with. Besides being a widow, that’s briefly touched upon, it’s unclear what her role really is. I guess she helps Jon figure out that there’s more to life than sex and porn. Don never spends time with women and really treats them as another conquest, one after the other. Moore opens his eyes to a different side; one that ultimately is more pleasing than what Jon gets out of watching porn. “Don Jon” is a fine effort from Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He surely has a knack for behind the camera, keeping us interested even if the story starts to go nowhere. You also realize that he’s carefully studied the directors he’s worked with on previous films. The screenplay is a bit green, but there have been far worse first time efforts. “Don Jon” is at times fun, humorous, and very light. Almost too light. With an abrupt, quickly wrapped up ending, and some themes never explored to their fullest, “Don Jon” is a decent time at the movies rather than something much more memorable.
When Jon attends his night classes, introduced is Julianne Moore’s character. At first they don’t really get off to a good start despite a considerate effort on her part. Once Jon’s relationship with his girlfriend starts to deteriorate, the two of them start up an unlikely friendship that leads to unlikely intercourse. Keep in mind, Jon is always hooking up with women around his age and now finds himself attracted to a middle-aged woman. In fact, what he sees in her and most of all feels when with her doesn’t hold a candle to women of his past. Moore is always great, but she doesn’t really have a whole lot to work with. Besides being a widow, that’s briefly touched upon, it’s unclear what her role really is. I guess she helps Jon figure out that there’s more to life than sex and porn. Don never spends time with women and really treats them as another conquest, one after the other. Moore opens his eyes to a different side; one that ultimately is more pleasing than what Jon gets out of watching porn. “Don Jon” is a fine effort from Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He surely has a knack for behind the camera, keeping us interested even if the story starts to go nowhere. You also realize that he’s carefully studied the directors he’s worked with on previous films. The screenplay is a bit green, but there have been far worse first time efforts. “Don Jon” is at times fun, humorous, and very light. Almost too light. With an abrupt, quickly wrapped up ending, and some themes never explored to their fullest, “Don Jon” is a decent time at the movies rather than something much more memorable.
Grade: 3 out of 5
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