Don Jon marks the debut of Joseph Gordon Levitt, the screenwriter/director. As someone who has followed most of this guys career, seeing this film was a no brainer. JGL has already proven he can act like it's nobodies business, but does he have what it takes to be a truly formidable writer/director?
In Don Jon JGL plays Johnny, a ladies man who is addicted to porn. He meets and falls for Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), a straight up 10 who challenges John in several ways, including forcing him to take a night class where he meets Esther (Julianne Moore), who will end up changing the way John thinks about himself, others, sex, and his lifestyle.
Don Jon was a film that I so badly wanted to love, to praise. Unfortunately, it falls flat in many areas. JGL has shown that he is a fairly smart man that enjoys taking on challenging characters with intricate arcs and deep stories. You would think that he would have a lot to say....and while what he does have to say is fairly entertaining and truthful, it's not as deep as you would hope for it to be.
As a writer, JGL proves constantly that he's got the shine. His script for Don Jon is pretty great. This is how real people talk, what real people talk about, and how men and women really act. As a director, he seems to be fine as well (he doesn't do anything really stand out here though), managing to evoke fairly great performances from Scar Jo (she is super hawt here, just wait till you see the hallway dry humping scene) and Julianne Moore (Moore is the most memorable thing about this film, surprisingly). However, after the first hour or so I couldn't help but notice that the film didn't seem to be going anywhere. The character of John did remind me a bit of myself, but ultimately he's not a super deep character and there's not much that Levitt can really do to make him memorable. He's definitely like what a real guy is, but he's just not super memorable. John does end up changing a bit, but it happens a bit too quickly and a little bit late (in the last 20 mins or so is where this happens). The message here seems to be: There's more to love than sex. It's a good message for young people, but I imagine that most adults that are past their 20s already know this. The film does seem to be aimed squarely at the 20-something crowd, and it's certainly tons of fun....however, the film feels like it's going to have this huge message and that this guy is really going to end up making a drastic change and it's all going to be uplifting.....but the film doesn't really do any of this. Not to mention, it feels like the film would have benefited from an extra hour where things could be fleshed out a bit more and where a more concrete and solid ending could have been formed (the way the film ends is just bad, really bad).
Don Jon, from opening credits to final shot is all about sex. It's clear that JGL is trying to say meaningful things about society's obsession with sex, about the falsity and meaningless repetition of religion and religious rituals, about the surface culture we live in, etc. The film has room for several message, but as it is most of these end up being half-messages and half-formed ideas with the big message being contained solely to that of relationships. JGL has so many ideas, that it's almost like he was unable to reel himself in. I can see how this film could have been great, and it hurts to watch it get so much right and so much wrong at the same time.
Don Jon is surely an entertaining, fun film....but if you're hoping for more than just that, you might as well look somewhere else. To his credit, JGL does try to create a strong message here. Don Jon shows that JGL can make believable, REAL dialogue and knows how to just about perfectly mimic real life conversation...however, he still has to work on his story creating skills and on how to end a film the right way. I hate saying bad things about JGL, I really do love the guy. He's got an insane level of talent, and it's clear that he's got some good writing skills. He's still a beginner, but if he keeps working at honing his craft he may just become one of the bigs eventually. I'd say that if you are a JGL completionist like me, the film's a must-see and it's interesting to be able to watch the beginnings of what may turn into something great later on down the road, but for right now JGL still has some work to do. I enjoyed myself, I just wish there had been more substance and more of a payoff. Don Jon is a good college effort, and it's tons of surface fun but there's not as much going on underneath the surface as Joseph Gordon Levitt seems to think there is.
3.5 STARS
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