Movie Breakdown: Don Jon

People are doing traditional-style reviews all over the web, so we decided to try something different.  In each “breakdown” we’ll take a look at what a film’s marketing lead us to believe, how the movie actually played, and then what we learned from it all.  Read on!

The Impression:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in Don Jon, which he both wrote and directed.  It appears to be a potentially dirty tale about a guy who is addicted to porn.

The Reality:

Don Jon is worth seeing, but I would make sure to walk in with tempered expectations.  Yes, there are some genuinely funny moments sprinkled throughout the film and it does have a message that’s refreshingly positive, but there’s also a variety of things that constantly remind you that Don Jon is the work of a first-time director.  The tone and the pacing often take wonky turns, and the aforementioned message is presented in such a heavy handed fashion that it might as well have been scribbled on the screen with crayons.  So, if you must, catch a matinee and then get on with waiting for Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s next directorial effort.

By the way, Don Jon is rated R, but know that it falls on the lighter side of that scale.

The Lesson:

Let me know when JGL gets a couple more films under his belt.