My review of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial feature debut, Don Jon, starring the director himself as a modern-day Don Juan, and Scarlett Johansson as the lover that changes his life. Working from his own script, JGL’s debut is a well-meaning but ultimately disappointing misfire, choosing to play it safe with the independent film model instead of venturing outside of one individual’s forced bildungsroman and clean, happy-go-lucky conclusion. However, the film’s piquant relationship to pornography, sex, and the commercialization of cinema in general makes Don Jon a complex piece bound to be seen widely in major theaters this year. The movie premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Premieres section, and was formerly titled Don Jon’s Addiction.
