Don Jon: A Rom-Com for the Guys?
John Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), known as Don Jon to his friends, has a deep appreciation for women. So much so, that he scores a new “chick” every night. He also loves his biceps, his family, his church… and his pornography. While he won’t sleep with a woman he rates less than an eight out of ten, John finds porn clips more alluring and arousing than the beauties who grace his bed. Even when he starts dating Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), a “ten,” he continues his affair with his laptop and a box of tissues. Barbara, raised on romantic movies, finds pornography disgusting and will only date John if he swears off porn sites.
The protagonist’s father is played by Tony Danza, a former professional boxer and well-known television actor, famous for his role in the American version of the sitcom “Who’s the Boss?”
Romantic comedies are often seen as date movies. What else is a couple to do if they can’t agree on the latest Marvel flick? However, most rom-coms cater more to women than men. The genre’s typical plots, drama, music, and design resonate more with the female audience. There’s nothing wrong with that – almost every other genre is geared towards men, and women deserve “their” movies. But sometimes, you crave a rom-com that leans 80% towards the male perspective, rather than 30% or 50%.
During the making of “Don Jon,” Joseph Gordon-Levitt consulted with Rian Johnson, who directed him in “Brick” and “Looper.”
Well, “Don Jon” is that kind of film. Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial and screenwriting debut won’t disappoint his female fans, as he frequently flaunts his physique in a tank top (and sometimes without it). He seems to be in even better shape than he was during “The Dark Knight Rises.” But almost everything else in “Don Jon” is tailored for men. The film’s main theme, plot, jokes, gags, and the occasional appearance of pornographic scenes… Even the way the camera films Scarlett Johansson. It’s not the usual Hollywood approach of, “Here’s Scarlett Johansson. She’s in our movie. Isn’t that something?” It’s more like, “Hey, guys, look! Scarlett Johansson! Front, back, everywhere! She’s a ten out of ten! Twelve! Twenty! Sixty-six!” The actress doesn’t have any explicit scenes, but like Marilyn Monroe, Johansson doesn’t need to undress to captivate men, especially when the camera gazes at her with the passion of Gordon-Levitt’s lens.
The Central Conflict
The central conflict of the film seems surprising at first: the protagonist continues to watch porn even though he’s sleeping with one of the most beautiful women in the world. Why? The film primarily explores this question. It’s not just about relationships between people, but about the relationships between people and the myths ingrained in us by pop culture. Pornography offers idealized women, romantic movies offer idealized men, and we sneer when our real-life acquaintances don’t quite measure up to these ideals. Especially if we like what we see in the mirror and believe we can find someone better than a “ten out of ten.”
From Rom-Com to Satire
In exploring this theme, the film quickly transforms from a romantic comedy into a biting satire. It concludes as a melodrama, which is its weakest part, but the ending is brief enough not to spoil the impact of the frank and hilarious scenes that precede it. Gordon-Levitt’s inexperience as a writer is evident, but it’s also clear that he has something to say about sexual mores, male psychology, female quirks, family upbringing, “bro” friendships, and even the Catholic Church. The latter feels somewhat out of place, as Gordon-Levitt isn’t Catholic. There are plenty of Catholic directors in the US who criticize their Church, and if Gordon-Levitt wanted to say something unpleasant about religion, he should have focused on his “native” Judaism. But since he jokes wittily, he can be forgiven. And besides, what talk of correctness can there be when it comes to a film in which the protagonist tirelessly “chokes the snake”? The main thing is that it’s a fun and lively male comedy that makes you think about how we live and where modern civilization is headed.