Don Jon

"Don Jon" (formerly known as "Don Jon's Addiction") is the feature directorial debut of the talented and ridiculously charismatic Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He also wrote the script and plays the title character, a young man from New Jersey who's developed: a) an unhealthy addiction to porn; and b) such unrealistic expectations about sex and love (and sex) that not even a "10" like Barbara (a hilarious Scarlett Johansson, in what is easily her best work since "Vicky Cristina Barcelona") can satisfy him in real life.

"Don Jon" reminded me of a great, half-forgotten French film: Bertrand Blier's "Too Beautiful for You" (1989). In that film, a wealthy car dealer (Gerard Depardieu) who has everything – including a beautiful wife (Carole Bouquet) – falls for his plain, slightly overweight secretary (Josiane Balasko). "Don Jon" is also like Blier's film in the sense that Jon finds his "10," yet he's still unsatisfied. Both films are very different in tone, aesthetics, and geography, but they delicately touch in the realm of our own emotional misconceptions and immaturity. We live in a world where our ever-growing concern about self-image, and the belief that we must abide by unattainable beauty standards in order to find a decent match, have grown so out-of-hand that all we ever do is find obstacles to getting to know anyone who doesn't meet our own ridiculous requirements. We are always waiting for the illusory perfection. Levitt sharply illustrates this issue by way of porn addiction; it might be crude for some, but he manages not to fall into excessive vulgarity or toilet humor.

Also featuring the always wonderful Julianne Moore in an important role, plus Glenne Headly (I've missed her on the big screen), Tony Danza, and Brie Larson as Jon's parents and sister, respectively; "Don Jon" is worth the visit. Here's hoping for more JGL directorial efforts!

Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Jon, a confident, promiscuous, foul-mouthed, obsessive-compulsive, Catholic New Jersey boy. Though he is able to sleep with any woman he likes, which is how his friend's gave him the name Don Jon, he is unable to find the same level of satisfaction he attains through his addiction to online pornography. After meeting Barbara, played by Scarlett Johansson, Jon falls in-love and struggles to choose between her and his addiction.

Where a typical Hollywood romance would end, Don Jon just gets started. This is not a romantic comedy, this is a character-study within an anti-romantic comedy with great performances by an excellent cast in perfectly written roles. Tony Danza and Glenne Headly, as Jon's parents, provide some of the film's biggest laughs while Julianne Moore's character gives the story genuine heart. Joseph Gordon-Levitt proves to be just as talented behind-the-camera as he is in-front of it.

Don Jon does more in one small, 90-minute film than most 2 hour big films have ever accomplished. There is much to learn about relationships in this little tale yet it's never preachy and it keeps the laughs coming. This isn't the kind of film couples will feel comfortable or even want to see but it's the film they need to see. It's sincere and honest truth, no fluff.

Don Jon was very well-received in its regional premiere at the Paramount Theatre during Austin's SXSW Film Festival. The film was written, directed and starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He did a really fine job for his writing and directorial debut, but he may have been trying to do too much. The acting by Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, and Brie Larson is quite good. I think it is Gordon-Levitt's script that leaves something to be desired. His character Jon is a very successful ladies' man who is also heavily addicted to masturbating to internet porn – numerous times daily. Many people will find the film to be quite funny and enjoyable. However, the graphic use of porn will not be to everybody's taste and may be off-putting to viewers – particularly female viewers. I'm also wondering whether the extensive use of porn will lead to the MPAA giving it the kiss-of-death NC-17 rather than an R rating.

JGL's script is well-intentioned and he is trying to make the point that many people become so self-absorbed that they lose the ability to interact with others on a human level. Jon is deadened to real romance by his reliance on porn. His girlfriend has an overly romanticized view of relationships based on watching too many romantic movies. They are both so self-absorbed and selfish that they can't really build a real relationship. Still, it was often difficult to figure out what JGL's point was and in many ways became clearer listening to him during the Q&A after the film. JGL is attempting to raise profound issues about human relationships in the modern era, but he hasn't quite figured out how to do that as a writer and director. I expect that he is going to become as fine a director and writer as he already is an actor. He has a fine future ahead of him.

New Jersey guy Jon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) only cares about a few things in his life: his family, friends, church, and porn. After many one-night-stands, he finally decides to settle down with a "dime" named Barbara (Scarlett Johansson). But not even this relationship can compare to the happiness Jon has when alone with his pornography. When he realizes his porn may be too influential on him, he begins to change his lifestyle and beliefs with help from an older woman (Julianne Moore).

Stories of sex addiction aren't new, having been dealt with most recently in 2011's Shame, but Don Jon feels different. Jon loves porn; he says it many times in voice-over and is consistently shown getting up in the middle of the night to go watch porn after just having sex in real life. He doesn't see it as an addiction, saying "It's porn. It's not heroin," as his excuse. To show the media influence on sex, the film opens by crosscutting many sexualized commercials, film scenes, and television clips over the credits, while actual pornography clips are spliced throughout. But unlike Shame, which treats this topic in an intense, dramatic way, Jon keeps it light, funny, and tries to show how easy it is for someone to unknowingly fall into this addiction in today's sex- obsessed culture.

The film also tackles an exploration of today's relationships. Barbara's own "porn" is romantic Hollywood films that Jon hates. These films have influenced Barbara's ideas on dating (she yells at him to stop cleaning his apartment because it's not sexy) and enforced her beliefs that typical gender roles are the only means to a happy relationship. This film speaks truths about ideas young people may have about dating in today's culture, and while spinning these topics in a mostly comedic light, it is still interesting to consider how much media pertains to our understanding of the world.

Don Jon succeeds in most areas, and one large part is due to its cast. Tony Danza is really funny as Jon's father and Scarlett Johansson (and her hilarious Jersey accent) steals every scene she in. The film offers up a good amount of laughs, and the purposeful repetitive narrative works in showing Jon's changing lifestyle. Most of the film is so upbeat and fast that the last twenty minutes may feel like its dragging, but it can be considered necessary due to Jon's slowed-down new lifestyle.

The fact that this is the first film by writer-director Gordon-Levitt is extremely impressive. Don Jon flies at a mostly fast pace, has a fun cast, and gives a great commentary on sex, relationships, and addiction.

Don Jon (2013)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt wrote, director and stars as Jon, a twenty-something man who loves women but what he loves even more is watching porn. He meets Barbara (Scarlett Johansson) who demands that he gives it up for her. DON JON isn't the greatest film ever made but I will say that I don't recall ever watching a movie that was so confident. Confidence is something most people lack and even most brass movies lack it but DON JON certainly isn't afraid to say what it wants to and stick by it. Having a romantic comedy that says watching porn is better than being with women and then tells you why that's the case is something incredibly rare. What's even rarer is that this type of subject is usually just played for cheap laughs but here there's a complete story wrapped around it that asks a lot of questions, gives a lot of answers and as I said, is 100% confident about itself. The confidence just really jumps off the screen unlike any movie I've ever seen and that's where the original aspect of this film comes. There have been countless movies that downplay women but this one here just does so in such a fresh and original way that you can't help but enjoy it. It also is very smart about guys, their mentality on sex and various other issues. Gordon-Levitt does a wonderful job all around but especially in the acting department. As the writer he certainly knows this character very well but it still takes a very strong performance to get that to the screen and the actor does a fabulous job. Johansson also turns in her greatest work outside of a Woody Allen picture and Tony Danza is very memorable in his supporting bit as is Glenne Headly and Julianne Moore. The screenplay is certainly dirty and covers a lot of topics but the film never crosses the offensive line. The main reason it doesn't cross the line is that it remains smart no matter what it's saying and how dirty it's being said. DON JON is certainly a refreshing film that should get one excited thinking that Gordon-Levitt could turn into someone to keep your eye on not just as an actor but as a writer and director.