Yes, In Don Jon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt gets a greater charge out of solo sex with internet porn than the real thing with luscious Scarlett Johansson.
He’s got a real problem.
Don Jon more than adequately handles the dilemma with bracing humor, and, to keep things honest, with a pathos that, although kept simple, avoids simplemindedness. Written and directed by Gordon-Levitt, Don Jon isn’t shy to teach a lesson or two, including one that might not be so obvious at first. Yet Gordon-Levitt harvests a lot of fun out of a serious subject.
Jon Martello (Gordon-Levitt), consummate player who’s no slouch at meeting women, is a self-assured lothario in nightclubs, “scoring” women in both senses of the word. He and his two pals–one a schlub, the other a cool black guy–rate potential conquests on a 1-10 scale. Then Jon usually swoops in and makes the connection, typically whisking his newly found partners into a cab en route to some real live sex back at his immaculately-kept apartment.
Problem is, it doesn’t hold a candle to his as-many-as-11 encounters a day he has with his porn pals.
Before we know it, he lands Barbara Sugarman (Johannson–wonderful as a Jewish princess in a Joisey accent)–a declared “dime” on the boys’ rating scale. She tantalizingly teases him in high-octane scenes that showcase both of their acting skills, and even goads him into taking a college night course before finally succumbing to his demands. Barbara’s coming over to dinner at his parents’ will bust your gut. An hilarious Tony Danza as Jon’s father goes about as far as he can without overplaying the character of the macho, leering dad. Brie Larson (Short Term 12) has an intense, minimalist role as Jon’s sister, who throughout the film darts sharp looks at him and the rest of the family while constantly preoccupied on her cellphone. The one scene where she actually speaks springs on the viewer like a bolt of lightning.
The film is curiously explicit without a lot of heavy breathing and next to no nudity. It refuses to saunter into Cliche-Land once Barbara gets a load of Jon’s clandestine hobby, a practice she abhors as much as his dishonesty in the relationship. Jon’s addiction meets Barbara’s anger in a veritable train wreck of their individual expectations. Helping smooth the rocky road is the reliably sharp Julianne Moore as a sensitive older woman Jon meets at his night class.
Don Jon may paint itself into a corner where only somewhat broad brushstrokes can save the day but its lesson are heartfelt and authentic. Its humor meshes well with its sober-mindedness–no easy trick here. The kid from Third Rock From The Sun is not only a frontline actor (and a very good one here) but now a director who knows how to handle a story. For starters, he picked a tough subject and aced it.