Note: The below review is a repost of my original review from SXSW 2013 but with an additional review of the bonus features included on the Blu-ray disc.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (JGL) has been around for years as an actor, but Hollywood’s latest “IT” man is finally making the jump to feature directing and writing with his film, Don Jon (formerly Don Jon’s Addiction).
Don Jon is a modern day tale of a Don Juan type character. Don is a suave, good looking, athletic NJ bro who cares about his body, his pad, his family, his ride, church, girls, and porn. In fact, he loves porn, more than actually sleeping with the hot woman he can easily slay. You could say he’s addicted to it but, in his mind, he just likes it a lot and has valid reasons as back up. Don isn’t interested in dating, he likes the in-and-out game, but when he sees Barbara (Scarlett Johansson) at the club and tries to score with her, he realizes he’s going to have to play the long game. This affair eventually turns into a loving relationship but one that spawns a big problem for Don, Barbara doesn’t want him watching porn. From there, the film becomes an internal and external battle for Don as he has to decide what’s more important to him, love or porn and it just might take a pot smoking widow (Julianne Moore) in his night school class to help him make a decision.
Don Jon is an excellent debut for JGL and so far is one of my favorite films of the year. It probably helps a lot that I’m from the tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT) and also Italian, but even if you’re not from there is a lot to love about this movie. For guys, the first instance you see clips of porn from various sites around the net like Porn Hub, you’ll instantly form a secret bond with all the other guys in the theater when you softly gasp with a grin and think the exact same thing “this movie isn’t fucking around” and “I know that girl…all too well.” Even if you aren’t a bro, Don is a guy many men can relate to on some level and that’s what makes it successful. The relationships he has with his friends and family is what drives the great humor and honest and realistic nature of the story and script makes it all the more entertaining.
JGL’s film goes full Jersey on us. If any of you are familiar with people from NJ and even Staten Island, then you’ll know exactly what I mean. It’s actually really impressive to watch because not only does JGL nail the weightlifting, family man, bro clubber Italian type, but so does Scarlett Johansson as a Jersey girl, and Gleene Headly and Tony Danza as the loud Italian Jersey parents. In fact, Danza pretty much plays the exact same character as Robert De Niro from The Silver Linings Playbook except his character is from NJ, wears a beater and does a much better job.
As a straight man, it’s hard not to side with Don when it comes to his arguments about porn. The fact
that his girlfriend would break up with him because he watched porn is absolutely ridiculous. Like he says, every guy watches porn and if that was the breaking point of a relationship it isn’t a relationship worth being in to begin with. Where he differs from most guys though is that he would rather watch porn than actually have sex with the woman he can so easily get. The funny part about this is that he makes a lot of valid points as to why he prefers it, like how men don’t want to do missionary (all the time) because you can’t grab their ass and their boobs don’t hang and aren’t easy to play with among other things. Though, even when you think about those factors, I and most other guys would still rather have the real thing versus observing a video and that’s the key factor that differentiates JGL’s film from other porn addict features.
What’s great about Don Jon is that when it comes time to shifting gears away from the comedy and into the conflict/dramatic area, it never seems forced and is far from sappy. Rather, Joseph Gordon-Levitt manages to find the right type of conflict and the right type of solution, coupled with appropriate dialogue and realizations, that it avoids falling into the same trap so many comedies get stuck in when it comes time for the conflict to eventually rise. This is what makes or breaks a film and JGL strikes all the right chords, allowing for the balance of comedy and drama while our protagonist tries to figure out how to personally set things right and become a better person. Remember, step one is admitting you have an addiction, from there all you need is the right support to break away from it.
Overall, Don Jon is a hilarious and wildly entertaining film for adults. It’s relatable, it’s relevant and it’s down to earth. The acting is fantastic, the story is solid and it shows that JGL not only has the ability to deliver strong performances in front of the camera, but that when he finds a story he truly believes in he can deliver behind the camera as well, as both director and screenwriter. When it hits theaters, Don Jon is going to be a film that you don’t want to miss (even if some of the more explicit scenes are trimmed for the ‘R’ rating).
Special Features:
The Blu-ray comes with only a handful of short extras which is fine considering the type of film it is but I am shocked it didn’t come with at least a gag reel or bloopers. Anyway, here is a breakdown of all the special features on the disc.
Making of Don Jon (6:45) – This is a brief making of featurette where Gordon-Levitt and some of his crew discuss working on the film. Specifically, the production designer, costume designer, and cinematographer Thomas Kloss discuss their approaches to the film and why they set rooms up certain ways, shot scenes in certain ways and how the clothing changes a bit for each act of the film that relates to Don Jon’s character evolution. Gordon-Levitt also discusses who made up the rest of the crew which was basically people from Looper, Brick or 500 Days of Summer, so a talented crew to make a quality film.
Don Jon’s Origin (7:20) – This featurette is where Joseph explains where the idea came from and how it developed. He originally thought of it back in 2008 and knew that he wanted to make a mainstream feature film for a significantly lower budget. He realized he should turn it into a smart and well developed comedy after working on 50/50 with Seth Rogen and Jonathan Levine. His goal was to do a character study of how the media impacts our perception of things and people. He also mentions that Scarlett Johansson contributed a lot not only to Barbara’s character but to the story as well once she got involved with the project.
Joe’s Hats (4:50) – Joe explains what it was like to have multiple roles on the project and explained how he couldn’t understand how people who wrote a script could easily give it away to someone else to direct. He explains that when he wrote the movie he already imagined how he wanted to shoot, score, and cut the film as he finished the script. He also wanted the actors to rehearse together due to the tempo and snappiness of the dialogue. Lastly, he explains how the three acts are each stylistically different.
Objectified (5:07) – Each of the leads discuss the idea of objectification in our society. Julianne Moore discusses why Jon’s transformation had to result in intimacy from his initial objectification ways, Tony Danza talks about the pornography aspect in the film, and Scarlett explains he own feelings towards objectification since she is considered a blonde bombshell in Hollywood.
Themes and Variations (5:39) – Composer Nathan Johnson explains his and Joe’s approach to the score and mentions how Joe was going to cut the film to his music, which he says never happens. He explains how the first act is very synth and club music heavy, the second is like an old Hollywood orchestral score and the final act when Joe discovers true intimacy is when it’s just solo guitar work. Nathan explains that he wanted to bring in a new person who specialized in each area for each act rather than have one person so that we could feel the changes.
HitRECord Shorts – A collection of short films from under JGL’s film label
Movie Rating: For a film with porn as the backdrop it’s very well rounded, extremely funny, and is an outstanding debut for JGL behind the camera (8.3/10)
Disc Rating: (5/10)
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