Day in and day out, we all follow some sort of routine. Some of us go to school, others go to work, some of us do both. However, all of us have one thing that we participate in to make us stand out from everyone else. Whether it’s considered moral or immoral, in our mind, it’s what keeps us occupied for the time being and for years to come.
Don Jon, a film written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, follows a man Jon as he goes about his life following the same routine week by week. Family, friends, church and hooking up with girls are what keeps him occupied…oh and watching porn as well. One night however at the club, he meets a girl named Barbara (Scarlett Johansson) whom he finds to be the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. After a month of dating, she decides she wants to take the relationship to the next level by having sex. Jon is then caught in the act after just going through the real deal. The two characters get into an arguement, and soon reach an agreement that watching porn while they are dating is strictly prohibited.
As time progresses, Jon realizes that Barbara is just manipulating him into acting like the beloved movie characters that she so adores. From there, Jon must figure out if watching porn is something he really needs to keep constant, or if its just another highlight in his day to look forward to.
The overall plot of the movie is quickly introduced.Levitt’s character has a passion for many things in his life, including watching porn. Porn is so intuitive in his life that it even beats the actual act of having sex. Because the film is about such a devious act, the overall language and condition of the film is a little aggressive, in a good way. You can’t help but laugh at some of the scenes taking place, especially in a church. The F-word is blurted out every five seconds in conversation between Levitt’s character and another character. However I like this, because, in real life, we may talk like this to our close friends and family because that’s who we are. The language between characters related to Jon seem real and precise. Johansson’s character to me though seemed a little too fake. Trying to play a authentic Italian, opposite an even more authentic Italian character Levitt, is not one of her strong points. She seemed to be over playing the part at times. Tony Danza, who plays an even more authentic Italian as Levitt’s father, does an amazing job having a sort of chemistry with Levitt. As soon as you meet Julianne Moore’s character, you start to apprehend what direction the story is going to go in and see that there’s more than just a porn addict coping with his personal life.
Not only did Levitt act out an amazing character in the film, he personally wrote and directed the film. Although he has a certain style he wants to bring to the table, he still has a little learning to do if he wants to keep this stardom up.
