Joseph Gordon-Levitt's enjoyed a steady ascent from child star to indie lead to A-lister. Now he breaks into directing with Don Jon (2013), a clever film deconstructing treacly romantic comedies.Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a suave ladies man who finds internet porn more fulfilling than real relationships. Then he meets Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson), who refuses to be another one-night stand. Jon initiates a serious relationship, even going back to school to land a better job, but roves unable to keep up with Barbara's demands. Soon he draws the attention of Esther (Julianne Moore), a fellow night school student with a damaged past.
Don Jon recalls Saturday Night Fever with its disaffected, womanizing protagonist. And certainly Gordon-Levitt sets up Jon as needing to mature fast: his life amounts to an endless string of pickups and masturbation. Barbara provides Jon an impetus to go back to school, exercise self-control and generally find direction in life. He's so long treated women as sex objects that Barbara's assertiveness stuns him into action.
Yet Don Jon's attack on objectification proves double-edged. If Jon's porn fetish keeps him from connecting with real women, Barbara bases her "ideal man" on silly romcoms. Hence her controlling attitude: she even mocks Jon for cleaning his apartment, a decidedly "unmanly" activity. Ultimately Barbara proves more selfish than Jon, viewing her paramour as a project to fix rather than a flawed person. It's a restrained yet credible battle of the sexes: Jon's willing to change, but Barbara won't meet him halfway.
Gordon-Levitt provides remarkably assured direction. He repeatedly contrasts Jon's love life with porn videos and lewd commercials, stressing media objectification with tedious montages. He does better with the steady repetition of Jon's clubbing, scoring and churchgoing. Don Jon generates its own momentum, emphasizing his protagonist's emptiness through bluntly ironic editing (Jon's snarky confessions come to mind) and preening monologues.
Gordon-Levitt impresses equally front of the camera. He stresses Jon's shallow complacency and vanity, yet gives him a redeeming vulnerable edge. Scarlett Johansson matches with a slow-burn performance, blasting surface charm while slowly revealing her own neuroses. Julianne Moore is shortchanged with a kooky character bordering on "manic pixie dream girl." (Who buys porn for a total stranger?) Tony Danza and Glenne Headley play Jon's amiably caricatured parents.
Don Jon is, if nothing else, evenhanded in its conclusions. Neither the protagonist nor his lady love gets the sole burden for self-improvement. Even the best romantic comedies rarely transcend fantasy, but Gordon-Levitt shows a knack for characterization and ear for dialog that should serve him well. Keep up the great work.
