By When it comes to romantic comedies, you usually get the same material over and over again. The guy and the girl fall in love, they go through some rough spots, but in the end they live happily ever after. Don Jon is the complete opposite of this.
In his directorial debut, Joseph Gordon-Levitt creates an edgy R-rated comedy that can come off as gratuitous and tasteless. However, the film’s story moves past that and delivers a heartfelt tale not about love, but about relationships.
Gordon-Levitt, who also wrote the film, star as Jon Martello, a twenty-something lothario who objectifies everything in his life. The only thing he truly cares about is his pornography, which is really an addiction. When Jon meets Barbara, played by Scarlett Johansson, he is forced to begin the rigorous journey of a relationship.
At first, Jon is in it for the sex, but when that is withheld, he begins to believe that he may be in love with Barbara. After having her meet his parents and heavy praise from his boor-ish father, played by Tony Danza, Barbara thinks that Jon may be her man, until she catches him watching his porn.
For Jon, porn is not just a pleasuring activity. It is, in his mind, the only way he can feel love and get lost in the moment. For the viewer, it is an addictive habit that shows how out of touch Jon is with love and the true meaning of pleasure.
Jon soon meets Esther, an older woman from his night school, played by Julianne Moore, who tries to change Jon’s ways and help him realize that there is more to sex than just pleasure.
What separates Don Jon from other romantic comedies is its tendency to stay away from the norm. The movie points out the overzealous nature of how love is depicted through film. It then focuses on the true nature of dating and relationships by examining men and women’s desires. While some may think this film depicts men as misogynistic pigs, they may be surprised to find men are not always the problem.
