Joseph Gordon-Levitt has worked with some talented directors in Rian Johnson and Christopher Nolan and seems to have been taking notes from them when it came time to make his directorial debut with DON JON. The film that forced him to drop out of appearing in DJANGO UNCHAINED was a popular film at the Sundance Film Festival and now we have a look at the trailer for the movie via Apple complete with an introduction from the filmmaker and star.
DON JON seems to be treading similar themes about masculinity and sex as Steve McQueen‘s SHAME with Michael Fassbender. Where SHAME was a stark and serious look at sex addiction, DON JON almost looks like a comedy. I was expecting something more serious from Gordon-Levitt, so this trailer caught me a bit off guard.
Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a strong, handsome, good old-fashioned guy. His buddies call him Don Jon due to his ability to “pull” a different woman every weekend, but even the finest fling doesn’t compare to the bliss he finds alone in front of the computer watching pornography. Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson) is a bright, beautiful, good old-fashioned girl. Raised on romantic Hollywood movies, she’s determined to find her Prince Charming and ride off into the sunset. Wrestling with good old-fashioned expectations of the opposite sex, Jon and Barbara struggle against a media culture full of false fantasies to try and find true intimacy in this unexpected comedy written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
The Jersey accents threw me off a bit, but damn if Scarlett doesn’t look smoking hot in this movie. The supporting cast all looks like they will bring a nice life to this movie and I expect it to have a similar appeal like SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK had with audiences. It is also a nice extra that the romantic comedy they go see features Channing Tatum and Anne Hathaway. Nicely done, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. And, let us be honest, who hasn’t said they were “checking emails” when they got caught spanking it? Anyone? Bueller?
DON JON, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, and Tony Danza. It is set to hit theaters on October 18, 2013.