Como Não Perder Essa Mulher

Don Jon was very well-received in its regional premiere at the Paramount Theatre during Austin's SXSW Film Festival. The film was written, directed and starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He did a really fine job for his writing and directorial debut, but he may have been trying to do too much. The acting by Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, and Brie Larson is quite good. I think it is Gordon-Levitt's script that leaves something to be desired. His character Jon is a very successful ladies' man who is also heavily addicted to masturbating to internet porn – numerous times daily. Many people will find the film to be quite funny and enjoyable. However, the graphic use of porn will not be to everybody's taste and may be off-putting to viewers – particularly female viewers. I'm also wondering whether the extensive use of porn will lead to the MPAA giving it the kiss-of-death NC-17 rather than an R rating.

JGL's script is well-intentioned and he is trying to make the point that many people become so self-absorbed that they lose the ability to interact with others on a human level. Jon is deadened to real romance by his reliance on porn. His girlfriend has an overly romanticized view of relationships based on watching too many romantic movies. They are both so self-absorbed and selfish that they can't really build a real relationship. Still, it was often difficult to figure out what JGL's point was and in many ways became clearer listening to him during the Q&A after the film. JGL is attempting to raise profound issues about human relationships in the modern era, but he hasn't quite figured out how to do that as a writer and director. I expect that he is going to become as fine a director and writer as he already is an actor. He has a fine future ahead of him.

Don Jon (2013)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt wrote, director and stars as Jon, a twenty-something man who loves women but what he loves even more is watching porn. He meets Barbara (Scarlett Johansson) who demands that he gives it up for her. DON JON isn't the greatest film ever made but I will say that I don't recall ever watching a movie that was so confident. Confidence is something most people lack and even most brass movies lack it but DON JON certainly isn't afraid to say what it wants to and stick by it. Having a romantic comedy that says watching porn is better than being with women and then tells you why that's the case is something incredibly rare. What's even rarer is that this type of subject is usually just played for cheap laughs but here there's a complete story wrapped around it that asks a lot of questions, gives a lot of answers and as I said, is 100% confident about itself. The confidence just really jumps off the screen unlike any movie I've ever seen and that's where the original aspect of this film comes. There have been countless movies that downplay women but this one here just does so in such a fresh and original way that you can't help but enjoy it. It also is very smart about guys, their mentality on sex and various other issues. Gordon-Levitt does a wonderful job all around but especially in the acting department. As the writer he certainly knows this character very well but it still takes a very strong performance to get that to the screen and the actor does a fabulous job. Johansson also turns in her greatest work outside of a Woody Allen picture and Tony Danza is very memorable in his supporting bit as is Glenne Headly and Julianne Moore. The screenplay is certainly dirty and covers a lot of topics but the film never crosses the offensive line. The main reason it doesn't cross the line is that it remains smart no matter what it's saying and how dirty it's being said. DON JON is certainly a refreshing film that should get one excited thinking that Gordon-Levitt could turn into someone to keep your eye on not just as an actor but as a writer and director.

Defining what kind of film this is had to be the hardest part of getting DON JON made, but ultimately it was worth it! It isn't really a "guy" film even though *technically* it tries to look at sex from a guy's perspective. It may actually best be called a "chick" flick, but one they would see alone rather than with a date. At the screening I saw, ALL the raucous laughter was coming from very obviously female voices - falling out of their chairs laughing over what they viewed as stereotypical male behavior - and even as the supposed "10" played by Scarlett Johansson reveals herself to be the kind of demanding (insert the word for a female canine here) who a very stupid - make that excessively immature - straight boy (like the one played with supreme élan by author/director Gordon-Levitt) would make a fool of himself over!

The film heavily satirizes stereotypical straight New Jersey Catholics - the easily offended of which should probably stay away along with anyone who expects a slick date night romantic comedy that doesn't require them to THINK - but it IS a beautifully structured and polished first directorial effort and very funny in its way. Man or woman though, it is not your usual DATE film to see with the opposite sex. The litmus scene for the film was probably when Johansson (Barbara) confronts Gordon-Levitt (Jon) over watching porn! Foolishly trying to evoke simple reason, he (accurately) tells her that "EVERY guy watches porn - and that anyone who says he doesn't is lying." The theatre got absolutely quiet there for a moment in any section where dates were sitting, as each side wondered what the other was thinking. What YOU may think in that scene will determine a lot about how you view and react to the film. You may enjoy it regardless of what you think of that (for the film) core issue, but you sure won't want to see it with anyone who you can't comfortably talk about it with.

The "home" scenes with Jon's family and Barbara's are probably excess baggage, but they give the central characters broad context (the broadest performance in a very stylized film is probably Tony Danza's performance as Jon's father) - and set up the one totally human moment in the film when Jon's silent sister defines what a good sibling should be when she finally has a line! Ultimately, there is one unexpected, rational woman (Julianne Moore giving a remarkable imitation of Susan Sarandon!) who Jon meets in the night class Barbara insists he take who not only "gets" him but broadens his horizons for the kind of growth any central character in a good film must have.

Don't expect a pat happy ending or a cheap thought-free throw away comedy (and DON'T make it first date material with someone you don't know yet!), and the open minded will have a wonderful time. My take-away image is really of a few years ago at the first Broadway preview of a Tony winning musical called AVENUE Q. Just before it started, a student of mine at the university where I teach came over to introduce his mother who was seeing the show too, sitting in front of each other all the way over at the side. Midway through the show there was a very funny, very outrageous musical number called "You Can Be As Loud As You Want" (When You're making Love). I glanced over to see how my student and his mother were taking it and, as you can imagine, my student, sitting in front of his mother, was sinking onto the floor with embarrassment. What he *couldn't see* was his mother rocking with laughter both at the insouciance of the number and her son's embarrassment! I think my mother (who, as far as I know, probably doesn't approve of pornography) or my minister would be howling with laughter at DON JON too - but they probably wouldn't want anyone they knew to see them doing so.

Recommended - but with noted reservations.

'Don Jon (2013)' isn't just a movie about porn (though, porn and porn addiction do play a large role in the plot). Instead, it's a surprisingly nuanced, emotionally mature and, even, touching affair that aims to break down the artificiality of on-screen romances. It draws a parallel between the unrealistic emotional expectations one may have if they watch too many romantic comedies and the unrealistic sexual expectations one may have if they watch too much pornography. It's actually quite clever in its own sort of way. It's also relatively realistic and reaches an unexpectedly small yet significant conclusion that seemingly couldn't be any further from its starting point. That's because the protagonist is a self-absorbed, sexist womaniser more concerned with his own, greasy hairline than the actual personalities of any of the women he 'scores' nightly. Since we're in his headspace from the very first frame, the actual film can almost be just as grating. However, it isn't long before you realise what it's doing and that its heart is firmly in the right place. Not only does it have interesting and important messaging, it aims for an audience that this sort of film doesn't usually reach. It's typically an enjoyable, unembarrassed experience. It may not look it, but it's unmistakably a film about love. 7/10

New Jersey guy Jon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) only cares about a few things in his life: his family, friends, church, and porn. After many one-night-stands, he finally decides to settle down with a "dime" named Barbara (Scarlett Johansson). But not even this relationship can compare to the happiness Jon has when alone with his pornography. When he realizes his porn may be too influential on him, he begins to change his lifestyle and beliefs with help from an older woman (Julianne Moore).

Stories of sex addiction aren't new, having been dealt with most recently in 2011's Shame, but Don Jon feels different. Jon loves porn; he says it many times in voice-over and is consistently shown getting up in the middle of the night to go watch porn after just having sex in real life. He doesn't see it as an addiction, saying "It's porn. It's not heroin," as his excuse. To show the media influence on sex, the film opens by crosscutting many sexualized commercials, film scenes, and television clips over the credits, while actual pornography clips are spliced throughout. But unlike Shame, which treats this topic in an intense, dramatic way, Jon keeps it light, funny, and tries to show how easy it is for someone to unknowingly fall into this addiction in today's sex- obsessed culture.

The film also tackles an exploration of today's relationships. Barbara's own "porn" is romantic Hollywood films that Jon hates. These films have influenced Barbara's ideas on dating (she yells at him to stop cleaning his apartment because it's not sexy) and enforced her beliefs that typical gender roles are the only means to a happy relationship. This film speaks truths about ideas young people may have about dating in today's culture, and while spinning these topics in a mostly comedic light, it is still interesting to consider how much media pertains to our understanding of the world.

Don Jon succeeds in most areas, and one large part is due to its cast. Tony Danza is really funny as Jon's father and Scarlett Johansson (and her hilarious Jersey accent) steals every scene she in. The film offers up a good amount of laughs, and the purposeful repetitive narrative works in showing Jon's changing lifestyle. Most of the film is so upbeat and fast that the last twenty minutes may feel like its dragging, but it can be considered necessary due to Jon's slowed-down new lifestyle.

The fact that this is the first film by writer-director Gordon-Levitt is extremely impressive. Don Jon flies at a mostly fast pace, has a fun cast, and gives a great commentary on sex, relationships, and addiction.