Netflix Flick of the Week: “Don Jon”

What’s not to love about Joseph Gordon-Levitt? He’s a talented young actor who’s good-looking and very charismatic. He starred in great films such as Inception, 500 Days of Summer, and Angels in the Outfield (He played the main character who saw the angels, I just blew some of you’re minds didn’t I?). So what if I told you that not only did he star in, but also written and directed a film where he plays a Guido from New Jersey who has an addiction to pornography and masturbation? You all probably are thinking “What, Really?” Well he does just that in the 2013 comedy Don Jon.

So what’s the film about? It’s actually simple. Gordon-Levitt plays Jon, a young man who only enjoys a few things in life, his body, his place, his girls, his family, his church and pornography. Oddly enough the thing he loves most of all is porn, more than sleeping with woman. Why? Because the girls will do anything and everything in porn that girls in real life won’t do. He enjoys his simple life that is until he meets Barbra, played by Scarlett Johansson. He immediately falls for her and they start to go out. The film follows Jon as he tries to balance his two loves, Barbra and porn.

Don Jon is Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut, and for his first film, he does well. The story is simple and even though it has a few clichés in it, it does enough different where it keeps the film fresh and original. The film has a great flow to it and it doesn’t rush scenes where you don’t know what happen, nor does it drag, making you wish that it would just move on. You want to know what happens to our main character and how he solves his problem. The cinematography is pretty standard for this kind of film, good but nothing great. The only problem I kind of had was that the film kept going to same places over and over again. It almost seemed to repeat some scenes, but change them slightly.

You think you’re going to hate Gordon-Levitt’s character after the first 10 minutes. Being from New Jersey and absolutely hating Jersey Shore, (If you liked it, more power to you) I was ready to root against Jon. However as you watch the film, you start to like him. He’s confident and doesn’t believe he has a pornography problem, but he’s also hard working, caring, and he does try to change for Barbra. Gordon-Levitt is so good at making you like him, even if you don’t want to. Scarlett Johansson also does a great job of being both sweet and fiery, as she wants Jon to change for her. The other main character is Juliana Moore as Esther, a student with Jon in college as she tries to help him with his problems. Moore does great as always, but it is a little weird watching playing the role she does, trying to seduce a much younger Gordon-Levitt. The rest of the supporting cast is good as well, specially Hank Azaria as the crazy Italian father.

In the end, it’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who I think is one of Hollywood’s most underappreciated actors, who really sells this film. Having performed what I like to call the hat trick in films by acting, writing and directing, Don Jon is great comedy that people should give a watch.