cult film freak: JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT IN DON JON

Written by James M. Tate / 9/27/2013 / 1 Comment / 2013 , joseph gordon-levitt , julianne moore , romantic comedy , scarlett johansson , tony danza

JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT IN DON JON

9/27/2013 | 1 Comment

year: 2013 cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Tony Danza, Julianne Moore rating: ***

In most movies, a slick, guiltless womanizer is usually the second banana. From SWINGERS to SIDEWAYS, the main character we can relate to is the gentle, passive guy who learns from the gigolo how to (or how not to) play the ladies… So be prepared for the dude who gets all the “action" to tell the whole story…

After scoring plenty in a noisy strobing nightclub, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s titular lady killer finds the one who puts the rest to shame… Although Jon, called DON JON since he’s kingpin in the bedroom, has something he likes better than random sex or this new hopeful conquest, and that’s porn.

Quickly edited scenes of various internet porn not only puts the audience into Jon’s busy brain, but provides director Levitt a creative way to show how we view things: No matter what you're into, thanks to high speed Internet, information is fast, flashy and perpetually omnipresent. But what happens when The Don’s not online?

A Tony Danza comeback... Why didn't Quentin Tarantino think of that? Did he see GOING APE?

A game-changing relationship with the girl Jon considers a “dime” (perfect 10) is his only complication. Scarlett Johansson’s curvaceous Barbara tries her best to change Jon’s habits, and breaks ground where no other ladies have. First by meeting his family, which includes macho Italian Tony Danza, and then giving Jon forceful advice on how to live: from shopping to cleaning house, she has all the answers. But it turns out Barbara’s merely a distraction to an underlying “issue” that must be resolved…

The initially platonic relationship with night school older lady Ester (Julianne Moore) attempts to change Jon’s outlook for the good… and that’s subjective. The film’s sexually charged, potentially limitless, surprisingly insightful frolic – captured in vivid, frantic motion by a promising first time director – takes backseat to an attempted bittersweet romance that winds up crashing the party: Oh well, it was fun while it lasted…

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Tags : 2013 , joseph gordon-levitt , julianne moore , romantic comedy , scarlett johansson , tony danza

James M. Tate

1 comment:

Ripper MadnessSeptember 28, 2013 at 11:00 PM
I definitely had this on my list of movies to see. In my head I was thinking, "Okay, knowing Jim, he's gonna review it, DON'T read the review until after you see this. DON'T READ." sigh, oh well, I read it - and a great review as always. And I'm still going to go see it, ha! This coming week for sure at the UA.

It's cool that Levitt, from Third Rock fame, has grown into this big time actor and now directing. I'm always at least interested if not excited about each new movie he is in, and now directs. I can't say that about anyone else from his generation. Cool beans.

See ya at the movies.
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