Don Jon (B+ or 3/4 stars)
'Don Jon' (written, directed, & starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is about addiction, compulsion, & how these elements can damage aspects of one's life. The source of the addiction: porn. Jon Martello (Gordon-Levitt, or JGL, as I'll refer to him) is portrayed as one of these Italian-American Jersey Shore guys: he bartends, bench presses, keeps his 'pad' pristine, loves his car, confesses his plentitude of sins in church, heads over to his parents for Sunday dinner & football, etc.. Jon is also a one-night-stand kind of dude - going to clubs with his buddies & rating the ladies on a scale of 1-10 for bangability, so to speak. But, to Jon, REAL sex simply isn't as good as masturbating to porn. He can't "lose himself" in the moment the way he can while watching porn on his laptop.
Climaxing in front of a computer means he doesn't have to work hard to please another person. This all changes when he meets buxom blonde, Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson). To him, she's worth pursuing (beyond a one night stand), & she knows how to string him along; teasing him, but delaying sexual delivery -- I'm reminded of a highly erotic scene in a hallway outside of her apartment door. Jon even brings Barbara over to mom & dads (Glenne Headly, Tony Danza!, plus Jon's sister - well played in near silence by Brie Larson, so good in this year's Short Term 12) so they can meet her. Ma & pa are wild about her, as well.
Nevertheless, when he does have sex with her ... it disappoints ... like all of his escapades. He 'loves' Barbara (or thinks so), so he keeps on seeing her. But the relationship that develops with her grows to be unhealthy for both (his porn addiction is matched by her late-breaking innate bitchiness). In fact, Jon's porn addiction & Barbara's bitchiness only amplifies once he befriends and engages in some (initially) non-sexual encounters with Esther (Julianne Moore), a 40-something yr. old classmate of his at a local community college. She's a wounded soul who could actually teach a thing or two to Jon. So soul-searching revelations ensue.
'Don Jon' executes more than a few interesting things. I like the way it equates porn with other entertainments. i.e., just as porn is detrimental to Jon, Barbara's infatuation with cheesy romantic comedies warps her perception/expectations of how a relationship is truly supposed to be. There's no way that Jon can live up to her expectations; based on the romantic heroes in those movies. To her, if a courtship doesn't conform to what she sees (and believes) in those movies ... then there's something wrong with HIM, not her. She's more interested in Jon as a fantasy rather than an actual mate. When he can't conform to her ideals, she becomes enraged. And since sex with her is unfulfilling, he relapses into porn again. This is the cycle.
Don Jon's narrative unfolds with a voiceover provided by Jon that offers insight into his preference for porn over sexual relations. Through inventive editing techniques, we see many variations of porn that Jon watches; though, it's all done in a very PG-13/R-rated way (and in no way NC-17). We also see scenes of Jon in the nude (with a laptop covering him), or Jon & Barbara making love, etc. -- but all the right parts are covered. So, it's a film with a lot of sex without seeing anything pornographic; funny enough. And because Jon's soul/psyche is damaged DUE to porn, there's nothing titillating about the images we see.
If I have to find fault with Gordon-Levitt's 1st directorial debut, it's that the 3rd act takes a little bit of a nosedive. Not only does some of the narrative energy dissipate, but despite an absolutely lovely supporting performance from Julianne Moore as Jon's newfound friend/potential love interest ... it didn't quite fit. I didn't overly buy the arc of their friendship & how it evolves. But that's where my complaints end. JGL takes on the look/personality of a guy straight outta Jersey Shore. Jon is shallow. And yet, JGL gives him some emotions buried deep inside (ok, well, maybe not TOO deep, haha). JGL, much like Ryan Gosling, can really do a little bit of everything. He can do romantic comedies, big budget superhero flicks, sweeping historical epics, cancer dramas, & sci-fi actioners.
Scarlett Johansson has never looked sexier; though, her true colors shine through late in the film & she's anything BUT sexy. With well-observed body language & a perfected accent, ScarJo nails that bossy, gum-snapping Jersey Shore princess that we've all grown accustomed to in pop culture. Tony Danza is a hoot as Jon's overbearing, undersexed, wife beater-clad father. Glenne Headly (remember her from Dick Tracy & Mr. Holland's Opus?) is great as Jon's I-want-my-son-to-get-married-so-I can-have-grandkids!!!! mother. And I loved Brie Larson as Jon's quiet sister whose observant eyes say more than any dialogue can convey. And so, while 'Don Jon' stalls near the end, the script confronts issues of addiction, faux-masculinity, & intimacy. And connecting to the world by way of the internet, cell phones, or other social media is no way to be intimate. These are all serious subject matters that JGL handles with real wit & insight.
Climaxing in front of a computer means he doesn't have to work hard to please another person. This all changes when he meets buxom blonde, Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson). To him, she's worth pursuing (beyond a one night stand), & she knows how to string him along; teasing him, but delaying sexual delivery -- I'm reminded of a highly erotic scene in a hallway outside of her apartment door. Jon even brings Barbara over to mom & dads (Glenne Headly, Tony Danza!, plus Jon's sister - well played in near silence by Brie Larson, so good in this year's Short Term 12) so they can meet her. Ma & pa are wild about her, as well.
Nevertheless, when he does have sex with her ... it disappoints ... like all of his escapades. He 'loves' Barbara (or thinks so), so he keeps on seeing her. But the relationship that develops with her grows to be unhealthy for both (his porn addiction is matched by her late-breaking innate bitchiness). In fact, Jon's porn addiction & Barbara's bitchiness only amplifies once he befriends and engages in some (initially) non-sexual encounters with Esther (Julianne Moore), a 40-something yr. old classmate of his at a local community college. She's a wounded soul who could actually teach a thing or two to Jon. So soul-searching revelations ensue.
'Don Jon' executes more than a few interesting things. I like the way it equates porn with other entertainments. i.e., just as porn is detrimental to Jon, Barbara's infatuation with cheesy romantic comedies warps her perception/expectations of how a relationship is truly supposed to be. There's no way that Jon can live up to her expectations; based on the romantic heroes in those movies. To her, if a courtship doesn't conform to what she sees (and believes) in those movies ... then there's something wrong with HIM, not her. She's more interested in Jon as a fantasy rather than an actual mate. When he can't conform to her ideals, she becomes enraged. And since sex with her is unfulfilling, he relapses into porn again. This is the cycle.
Don Jon's narrative unfolds with a voiceover provided by Jon that offers insight into his preference for porn over sexual relations. Through inventive editing techniques, we see many variations of porn that Jon watches; though, it's all done in a very PG-13/R-rated way (and in no way NC-17). We also see scenes of Jon in the nude (with a laptop covering him), or Jon & Barbara making love, etc. -- but all the right parts are covered. So, it's a film with a lot of sex without seeing anything pornographic; funny enough. And because Jon's soul/psyche is damaged DUE to porn, there's nothing titillating about the images we see.
If I have to find fault with Gordon-Levitt's 1st directorial debut, it's that the 3rd act takes a little bit of a nosedive. Not only does some of the narrative energy dissipate, but despite an absolutely lovely supporting performance from Julianne Moore as Jon's newfound friend/potential love interest ... it didn't quite fit. I didn't overly buy the arc of their friendship & how it evolves. But that's where my complaints end. JGL takes on the look/personality of a guy straight outta Jersey Shore. Jon is shallow. And yet, JGL gives him some emotions buried deep inside (ok, well, maybe not TOO deep, haha). JGL, much like Ryan Gosling, can really do a little bit of everything. He can do romantic comedies, big budget superhero flicks, sweeping historical epics, cancer dramas, & sci-fi actioners.
Scarlett Johansson has never looked sexier; though, her true colors shine through late in the film & she's anything BUT sexy. With well-observed body language & a perfected accent, ScarJo nails that bossy, gum-snapping Jersey Shore princess that we've all grown accustomed to in pop culture. Tony Danza is a hoot as Jon's overbearing, undersexed, wife beater-clad father. Glenne Headly (remember her from Dick Tracy & Mr. Holland's Opus?) is great as Jon's I-want-my-son-to-get-married-so-I can-have-grandkids!!!! mother. And I loved Brie Larson as Jon's quiet sister whose observant eyes say more than any dialogue can convey. And so, while 'Don Jon' stalls near the end, the script confronts issues of addiction, faux-masculinity, & intimacy. And connecting to the world by way of the internet, cell phones, or other social media is no way to be intimate. These are all serious subject matters that JGL handles with real wit & insight.