Joseph Gordon-Levitt steps behind the camera in his writing and directing debut, “Don Jon.”
Levitt plays Jon, a pumped up, good-looking guy from New Jersey who only cares about the following things: his body, his pad, his ride, his family, his church, his boys and most importantly, his porn. Despite being a neighborhood stud, Jon is addicted to porn.
Even after he’s finished having relations with a pretty club hookup, he’ll retreat to his computer to watch one of his favorite X-rated clips.
Things change when he falls head over heels for Barbara (Scarlett Johansson).
He enters into a monogamous relationship with her. For the most part, everything is pretty normal; they meet up, go out, tell their friends and repeat.
But all that changes. When Barbara catches Jon watching porn after relations, she goes completely ballistic.
Jon eventually attends a local college and meets Esther (Julianne Moore), a knowledgeable older woman who waxes poetically on what “real” sex is all about.And if you want to leave this movie with a quality lesson, the conversations between Jon and Esther are a wonderful place to get them from.
Another fun thing to watch is Tony Danza’s performance as Jon’s dad cranking out “Italian overbearing father,” the man deserves screen time.
Gordon-Levitt and Danza moments are scarce, but worth waiting for.
All in all, Gordon-Levitt shows that he has the chops to be able to be an actor and director.
He has an ability to shoot a scene in a way that will make you laugh and it is something that he should consider doing more of in the future.
Writing is a different story. Not that he doesn’t have the skill, because the film is funny.
Many of the jokes are only funny because they are said in the “Jersey accents.” So it’s not that he isn’t, or can’t be, a good writer, but it’s going to take a lot more than this to show it.
There is a number of actual pornographic images in this film, so be warned.
Don Jon may not be the greatest film ever made, but with good performances across the board and some good laughs it turns out to be a pretty good date movie for the more established and comfortable couple.
B