Over
the course of film making, we've seen many famous actors turn into famous film
makers. People like Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Gene Kelly, Orson Welles, Mel
Gibson, Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, and even ones like Jon Favreau and Ben
Stiller have made an iconic film in the director’s chair. Now Joseph Gordon-Levitt
has also starting to enter into that category, with his newest film, “Don Jon.”
“Don
Jon” tells the story of Jon Martello Jr, a guy who only cares about eight
things in life: fitness, a clean place, a sweet car, church, family, bros,
women, and most important to him, porn. However, his porn addiction becomes a
problem with one girl, as she thinks him watching porn is tasteless. Problem
for Jon, he starts to fall for this girl, and now is in a constant struggle on
if he should stay with this girl, give up his porn, or find an alternative. It’s
a small plot, but then again it IS an hour and a half movie, so it’s kind of
expected. After all, it IS Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut, as well as
his writer debut as well. And with it being a first timer film, it isn't
without some flaws.
For starters, there are certain
moments that do make the film feel a little repeated at times, that it does tend
to drag a bit out. A prime example of that are the church confession scenes,
which wouldn't be so bad, but it’s done so much that it got a little tedious. There
were also some of the make-out scenes, which tended to go on a little too long,
even for a film that doesn't even hit the 90 minute mark. There are also some
shots that had shaky cam. Now it isn't like the action film shaky cam, where
you can’t see any action happening; instead it is a calming scene that has the
camera moving all about to where it started to make my eyes hurt (though that
could have something to do with me sitting in the front. Though the one thing
that didn't work with me right was Scarlett Johansen as Jon’s first love
interest. I don’t know if the character was intended to be like that, but she
was just not that likable. The way she talked and some of her lines just made
me think this character as annoying. A prime example of it, is when she wants
Joe to stop his habits of cleaning his place and leave it to maids…Bitch, you’re
dating a guy who cleans his place almost every day, WHY ARE YOU DISAPPROVING OF
THIS?!
Now aside from what I disliked,
what WAS good about the film? Well…pretty much the rest of the film was good.
Joe’s good as always as an actor, but he really does show some great work for a
first time director and writer. That and the casting choices were excellent
choices. Glenne Headly, Brie Larson, and Tony Danza are hilarious as Jon’s
family. With Headly as the mother who wants grandchildren; Larson as the sister
who usually stays disconnected with most conversations, yet also has that one
moment at the end; and Danza as the father who curses a lot, is obsessed with
football, and hardly has much respect for his son. I could not get enough of these
dysfunctional, yet very relatable, characters. I’m actually hoping that this
film gets a sitcom spin-off on ShowTime; that’s how much I enjoyed these
characters. Julianne Moore also has a part in the film, playing Jon’s classmate
and 2nd love interest. She really does show understanding for Jon,
and vice versa, the more that Jon starts to grow more attached to her.
Overall, while “Don Jon” isn't
perfect, it’s still a pretty good director start for Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I
hope to see more work to come from the man as time goes on. Who knows? Maybe he'll direct that "Guys and Dolls" remake he's starring in with Channing Tatum, and become the next Gene Kelly.
Rating: 8/10
