Okay, Spunky, read on.
I happen to like the work of Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I became a total fan when he started in the wonderful and very under-rated "(500) Days of Summer." And he was the only thing worth watching in junk like "50/50," "The Dark Knight Rises," and "Inception." Indeed, the only reason I saw those three garbage dumps was because this guy was in them.
So, my interest was naturally piqued when I heard about "Don Jon," which is Gordon-Levitt's very first attempt at feature film writing and directing. I can safely report that his talent is still up on the screen as he stretches his creative muscles. "Don Jon" is not perfect. It may not be everybody's taste. Hell, I might not even like it as much when I see it a second time. But, nothing should discourage Gordon-Levitt from writing and directing again. He's got an ear and an eye for real human stories.
But, that should be no surprise. As I dug into his background, I noticed that Joseph's maternal grandfather was director Michael Gordon. Among his credits is one of my favorite movies of all time "Pillow Talk."
Ah!
Because the grandson has, in a fashion, crafted a movie very similar to Grandpa's. A romantic comedy that follows the usual beats of one of those Doris Day-Rock Hudson yarns, but mashes it up and updates the tale to fit the dark edginess we have come to know as 2013.
Gordon-Levitt plays Jon Martello and he's somebody that anyone from New York can spot in an instant. The Italian stud living in New Jersey. Working in a menial job. Clubbing every Saturday night with his goombah friends. Having tons of meaningless sex, that is erased every Sunday morning when he goes to confession and then mass with his family. Naturally, he then winds up at Mom and Dad's. Having a plate of pasta. Wearing a wife beater t-shirt, the same that his father is wearing at the dinner table. BTW, Daddy here is played by TV's Tony Danza and this is not the guy you remember from "Taxi." Indeed, Tony, in a wonderful performance, shows you who's the fucking boss.
It's nothing more than the set-up of "Saturday Night Fever." But, instead of an obsession to doing the Hustle, Jon's big hobby is watching internet porn. Lots and lots and lots of internet porn.
Gee, we never saw Rock Hudson do that on screen. In real life, probably. But never on film.
Jon meets Barbara Sugarman in a club and immediately picks her up. Played to a Brooklyn tee by Scarlet Johansson, Barbara is looking to settle down and she thinks Jon is the guy who will keep her in kids and cannolis. She has but one stipulation. He needs to stop watching internet porn.
Easier said than done. And the rest of the film shows us as this relationship plays out, all of us knowing fully well that Jon will never really be able to turn off the hot chicks from Korea. Indeed, what we watch is another version of "Pillow Talk" but with the main characters being played by Christopher and Adriana from "The Sopranos." It's funny and incredibly authentic. You don't doubt for a single moment that these people live right next door to you.
Meanwhile, Jon is going to night school and he meets up with a middle-aged woman named Esther who lost both her husband and young son in a car crash. Played with style by Julianne Moore, Esther comes out of nowhere to offer Jon a real alternative to Barbara. A triangle develops and, yet throughout it all, Jon still can't turn off the internet.
So I guess you could say the plot is your standard "boy meets girl, boy meets woman, boy loses girl, boy loses woman, boy jacks off in front of a laptop."
Or something like that.
Don't get me wrong. "Don Jon" is fascinating to watch. But it's gritty and, towards the end, a little tough to watch. Perhaps that's what Gordon-Levitt was going for. It doesn't all tie up with a pretty pink bow like Doris and Rock would. This is the real world of 2013, not the virginal realm of 1959. Not everything ends happily ever after.
So, in his perhaps unwitting nod to Grandpa, Joseph Gordon-Levitt honors both genres with his work at the helm of "Don Jon." He may not have even realized he was doing that when he wrote this movie. Thank God for him that there are writers like me who will connect the dots for him.
LEN'S RATING: Three stars.
Dinner last night: French dip ham sandwich at Philippe's.
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