DON JON – The Review

Review by Michael Haffner

JERSEY SHORE and other similar interpretations of the Jersey area found on TV and film have reinforced a specific stereotype that might either cause some to run and hide from DON JON or embrace it in the hope of recognizing some familiar and empty stereotype. Both sides might be surprised to find out that the film neither embraces such stereotypes nor ignores them either. At any rate, DON JON is fully aware of its surface appeal but subverts expectations by placing some thoughtful subtext beneath the “Jersey romantic-comedy” surface.

Jon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a self-described ladies man. He only goes after “the dimes” at the club (on a 1-10 scale, 10 being the hottest) and usually ends up taking them to bed. That is until he meets Barbara (Scarlett Johnasson). What follows is a cat and mouse game between the two as Jon is only able to get closer to Barbara by doing or changing something in his life to accommodate her. The breaking point for both of them though is when Barbara takes offense to Jon’s incessant viewing of pornography. From there, Jon begins a journey of self-discovery triggered by the women in his life.

I’m going to leave my summary of the film at that for the sake of not ruining some interesting plot turns that the film takes in the second half. Thankfully, the inspired casting makes these changes in DON JON (and in Jon’s character) seem natural. JGL’s boyish charm that is typically on display is almost all but forgotten beneath the slicked back hair and Jersey accent and attitude. Though he certainly looks the part, his performance reveals that he’s up for channeling some of the deeper issues that the role requires. Johansson is vivacious as she saunters from scene to scene in one tight mini dress after another. Some female viewers might begin to hold a grudge against the film’s script as her motives and exploits are portrayed at times as both manipulative and selfish. However, the film redeems itself through the inclusion of Julianne Moore’s character in the later half of the film. Her role is a breath of fresh air as it portrays the “older woman” in an unexpected light. The entire cast handles the humor well and adds depth to a script that refuses to get pigeonholed in either the dramatic or romantic comedy genres.

Joseph Gordon Levitt’s directorial debut confidently addresses taboo issues in our society such as masturbation, pornography, and addiction, without ever pointing a finger or looking down on the main character for his faults. Through such normal routine acts as showing Jon at the grocery store, Levitt brings to light certain societal pressures that lie in plain sight – though we often fail to recognize them – but he never seems to stoop to some moral message by placing the blame on who could likely be held accountable for these societal issues. The film isn’t about what’s “wrong” with Jon but what his actions simply say about him as a person. In one of the clever stylistic choices Levitt and editor Lauren Zuckerman does to showcase his actions, several repetitive montages are spliced together to create a rapid-fire look at Jon’s daily routine. “There’s only a few things I really care about in life. My body. My pad. My ride. My family. My church. My boys. My girls. My porn.” And with that succession of words stated by Jon, we are treated to visuals that illustrate these facts all too clearly. Some will say that the film’s use of pornographic imagery is excessive in both subject and due to its cyclical manner that it’s played out. However, that’s exactly the point. Only through seeing these actions that we realize how closed off Jon is to the real world. Even through he stares at his computer screen for hours each day, some of these other routine acts that you would assume would be more “normal acivities” reiterate this point as well. His family dinners are spent either silent so as to watch the football game or arguing over one matter or the other. Workouts at the gym consist of him exercising solo while talking to himself. Even his Sunday mornings at church involve him confessing his sins to a priest but behind the sanctuary “privacy” screen. Never does he embrace the idea of human contact and the emotions and complications that might come with it. All of these activities that we see Jon perform only add to the subtext that Levitt has carefully constructed about the modern man’s disconnect with society.

Roger Ebert once wrote, “no good film can ever be too long and no bad film is too short.” As much as I do love the story presented, I honestly do believe that Joseph Gordon-Levitt did cut off the film just slightly too short. A few extra minutes would have gone a long way. Even though the film is bookended with a montage of images intercut with a voiceover by the main character, the fact that the film is intent in presenting a change in the character’s psyche seems to be undermined by him not actually expressing his feelings as opposed to once again internalizing them. The handling of a later and important sex scene seems also misrepresented. JGL’s inexperience behind the camera makes the scene as glossy and as empty as Jon at the beginning of the film; which certainly wasn’t the intention. Anyone looking for a more intimate and truly emotional love-making scene would be better suited to see what James Ponsoldt achieved in this year’s THE SPECTACULAR NOW.

When the film debuted at Sundance earlier this year before getting picked up by its distributor, the original title was DON JON’S ADDICTION. My original reaction when I heard they were removing the negative word “addiction” was that the studio wanted to soften the stigma that that title may carry with it and to bump up the romantic comedy elements of the film. While I do feel that the studio has mistakenly marketed this film as a romantic comedy – which I feel it isn’t – I also am happy they changed the title. While many people will say Jon was addicted to porn, I would argue porn isn’t his addiction or necessarily to blame for the way he reacts with women. Jon was addicted to himself. Look at the listing of things that he says that he “really cares about in life.” Every single one has the word “my” in front of it. Yes, porn might be one of the things in that list, but as DON JON illustrates, a good film can hold many truths under its façade. Look past the film’s use of porn; past the romantic comedy marketing of Hollywood studios; past the macho New Jersey accents and muscle shirts; past the male stereotypes; past the nosy and controlling Barbara; past the fallacy that pornography makes all men degrade women; past the rules of a satisfying and healthy relationship; past the Hollywood constructs of what makes a film a comedy or a drama; and what you may find that DON JON is simply a human story. A human story that isn’t afraid to examine and learn from its character’s flaws.

4 out of 5 stars