Don Jon

JP Liz V1

The film now has an official release date 18th October 2013

No sign of a trailer yet but the cast talk about it here plus some snippet clips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssBFpwVIbcM

I wonder will Levitt let it all out like Fassbender in Shame :P, reviews (not many out) so far seem postive, the film sold fast and early at Sundance

Sad Professor

I believe he was forced to drop the "addiction" from the title in order to increase the film's box office. So it's just "Don Jon" now.

JP Liz V1

Trailer is out now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6615kYTpOSU

missingtime

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Trailer is out now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6615kYTpOSU

Hmmm, could be good, could be awful. The trailer shows too much. Thought it was going to be a bit darker but seems to be a rom-com.

+1 for Tony Danza though.

JP Liz V1

missingtime wrote: »

Hmmm, could be good, could be awful. The trailer shows too much. Thought it was going to be a bit darker but seems to be a rom-com.

+1 for Tony Danza though.

+ 1 for JGL's trying to be Marky Mark :P

grames_bond

I think it looks great - not gonna lie - looking forward to it!!

JP Liz V1

Poster is out

expectationlost

ugh the marketing, after the great trailer

claypigeon777

Not enough explosions and giant robots.

JP Liz V1

Looking forward to this now it is out here at weekend

bigslick

Went to see this on Tuesday. Enjoyed it. Some great moments with JGL and Tony Danza and Scarlett.

The Dom

bigslick wrote: »

Went to see this on Tuesday. Enjoyed it. Some great moments with JGL and Tony Danza and Scarlett.

I went to see it on Tuesday also.

What was up with that audience? They were so quiet, almost as if they had been expecting a Song for Bernadette or something.

Anyway, I really liked it - would like to see it again though, on a larger screen at a sold out screening, as a lot of the enjoyment of seeing a moving like that is the atmosphere, I think anyway.

If you haven't seen the trailer yet, try not to also as without question many of the good scenes will be ruined if you do.

Da Shins Kelly

Sorry if there's already a thread on this!

It's about a young lothario from New Jersey (kind of a Jersey Shore type) who has a fondness for porn from which he develops unhealthy expectations of reality. Joseph Gordon-Levitt writes, directs and stars.

Went to see it last night, and was impressed. Very ambitious, enthusiastic debut from Gordon-Levitt. It's quite light-hearted in tone, but there is an emotional centre as the film tackles the issue of unrealistic, unattainable expectations from the inside.

There's a lot going on in it from the misogynistic nature of porn to the fantasies created by Hollywood rom-coms (brilliant scenes involving Channing Tatum and Ann Hathaway under different aliases playing Hollywood stars), from the meaninglessness of religion to family expectations, and at times seems to touch on masculinity in crisis. However, sometimes it seems like there could have been a little bit more focus,. It seems sometimes that an awful lot is being crammed into the 90 minutes, but I came out of it feeling quite pleasantly surprised by the effort.

Significant use of voice-over and interesting music choices that some might feel are a bit intrusive, but I enjoyed it and actually think it contributed to the experience.

Great acting performances all-round, but particularly from Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore. Johansson's character is very sharp and she plays it very well, while Julianne Moore brings the real emotional weight.

The movie does play around with stereotypes a bit, and I could see how people might be put off by the cartoonish nature of it, but overall I found it a funny and touching journey of a young man learning some life lessons, and an effective commentary on porn and romance. A good start for Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuPXDuqicmo

Fysh

I'm looking forward to seeing this; JGL is clearly a smart guy in terms of the roles and projects he picks, so I'm definitely interested in seeing what he can offer as a writer/director.

ktulu123

Saw this yesterday, loved it!

maximoose

Saw this lastnight in cineworld, absolutely loved it!

JGL plays the role brilliantly, as do Scarlett Johanson and Julianne Moore. The film is greatly paced, hilarious at times and there are great supporting performances throughout (particularly his parents).

Think I might go see it again tonight, haven't laughed like that in the cinema in quite a while

bellinter

Julianne Moore is just always brilliant isn't she?

I really liked it. Sometimes the repetition; gym work out, walking into the church, confession, the sister on the phone, tissues going into the bin... that sort of thing, did grate a bit, though. Otherwise I found it a very entertaining 90 minutes (plus the obligatory 27 - yes 27 - minutes of adds and trailers in Cineworld!). The best scenes were when he was over having family dinners. Is it just me who thought that his mother looked very like Kim Cattrall? Could have sworn it was her!

There were a few uncomfortable laughs in the cinema at times as lads clearly recognised some of their own *habits* in Jon, which added to the entertainment!!

Hopefully we will see more of JGL as a writer/director in the future.

Warper

The trailer looks cringe-worthy. Maybe its just me but his face is just so damn smug

LuckyLloyd

Brilliant I thought. Funny, irreverent but at core quite a serious and thoughtful film. Very impressive directorial debut.

tupac_healy

Warper wrote: »

The trailer looks cringe-worthy. Maybe its just me but his face is just so damn smug

I would have thought that was what he was going for? Poking fun at your stereotypical 'jersey shore' type?

At least for me, if you can't stand those shows his intended OTT portrail/pisstake!! in the trailer alone makes me want to see it!!

Potential-Monke

I thought i was going to hate this film, as the character being played by JGL is the type of person i despise. However, i thoroughly enjoyed it. While it seemed light hearted in nature, the underlying story it was telling is a great damnation of the expectations of both men and women in today's society, be it the over-expectation of women on how love happens and should happen (kudos to Tatum and Hathaway) or the expectation of men on how sex/love should be (not all men/women mind, but quite a few).

Some really good scenes, and some very good laugh out loud moments. Tony Danza is brilliant and his chemistry with his son & wife was spot on. Plus the daughter doing the whole Silent Bob thing in Strike Back was excellent. Didn't expect it to be as good as it was, i would recommend it.

Also, who in this day and age

doesn't know how to delete their history? We even have incognito and it's various versions!

Bullseye1

Really enjoyed this directorial debut with some genuine humour and touching moments. Growth from the superficial to the real.

Dermighty

I enjoyed it.

tupac_healy

Finally got a chance to see it, loved it! JGL showed some balls to take on such a topic for his debut, could have played it safe be he took on a project that is still somewhat taboo these days...


Excellent movie and I loved how he got both the mans and woman's perspective spot on! JGL is a talented guy!!!

Luckycharms_74

Saw it the other day. I really enjoyed it. It was great to see Danza I'm it. Some funny scenes with him and Levitt. I though Johansonn & Moore played their respective parts pretty well.

7.5/10

KilOit

This movie needed to get more attention, really enjoyed it and i thought jgl was fantastic

Outkast_IRE

Great movie, sort of a taboo topic to an extent and it was handled really well.

Will be very interesting to see what he comes up with for his next movie.

Really great movie. Someone mentioned the repetition between the various stages were a bit grating, but I personally thought they were necessary - it showed the evolution of his character throughout the parts and it worked tremendously well. It's rare that a movie can portray a transformation and this one carries it off perfectly. Everyone was in absolutely flying form and not once did it descend into caricature, which it could so easily have done. I've been a big JGL fan since his days in Third Rock from the Sun and it's great to see him climb from strength to strength.

expectationlost

isn't 'the person has trouble in love but then meets somebody who fixes there life' not a cliche to avoid, it was like jgl wanted to show how grown up his character he go out with a ginger manic pixie 50 year old

JP Liz V1

One of the films of the year for me

Looper007

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

One of the films of the year for me

I agree one of the sleeper hit's of the year. I always admired Gordon Levitt, seems like one of the nice guy's of Hollywood and a very talented actor. so was rooting for this to be excellent and it was, Levitt gives what could have been a dislikeable main character and actually made him likeable. Scarlett Johansson, who I never bought the hype around, gives her best performance to date for me as a right dislikeable character. Tony Danza gives a little comic relief. Julianne Moore is always great and is no different here. Brie Larson gives a nice performance in a cameo role as Levitt's sister.

It's a nice calling card for Levitt if he continues to want to write and direct in the future.

Dave147

I'm delighted this was such a good film, I adore JGL, he's been excellent in everything he's been in, Third Rock and 10 Things I Hate About You to start him off, the latter he was excellent in, with poor old Heath.

Agree that it took balls to take on this subject and he did a good job, didn't over censor himself or the film, I watched the film with a smile on my face and will definitely watch it again soon. Scarlett Johansson is the sexiest woman on the planet btw!

sabat

Man enjoys ****, gets a girlfriend who doesn't like him ****, pretends to stop ****, gets caught ****, breaks up with girlfriend, meets a woman who teaches him that **** isn't everything.

From the comments here you'd think this was a modern masterpiece and not a half-baked idea torturously strung out into a film, but hey, the guy who made it played a character I liked in a sitcom I liked years ago so that makes it good.

Corkfeen

sabat wrote: »

Man enjoys ****, gets a girlfriend who doesn't like him ****, pretends to stop ****, gets caught ****, breaks up with girlfriend, meets a woman who teaches him that **** isn't everything.

From the comments here you'd think this was a modern masterpiece and not a half-baked idea torturously strung out into a film, but hey, the guy who made it played a character I liked in a sitcom I liked years ago so that makes it good.

Not gonna pretend it was a masterpiece but I did find it to be highly entertaining. It's film that could have easily have been one dimensional rubbish but it wasn't. Had low expectations when I saw the trailer but it was a much better directorial debut than I expected.

Fysh

sabat wrote: »

Man enjoys ****, gets a girlfriend who doesn't like him ****, pretends to stop ****, gets caught ****, breaks up with girlfriend, meets a woman who teaches him that **** isn't everything.

From the comments here you'd think this was a modern masterpiece and not a half-baked idea torturously strung out into a film, but hey, the guy who made it played a character I liked in a sitcom I liked years ago so that makes it good.

If you're minded to you can reduce any film to such a description. It doesn't actually contribute to any useful discussion about the film, though.

I really enjoyed this film, myself - I thought it was a slickly-executed story about unrealistic expectations about sex and relationships. It could easily have felt like 500 Days Of Summer With Added Porn, but instead it carves out a different niche for itself.

As for Joseph Gordon Levitt, I think it's extremely stupid to suggest that he's only got fans because of 3rd Rock From The Sun - he's shown impressive range and taste in projects with his filmography, and I'm hard pressed to think of other actors his age who've done films as diverse yet good as 10 Things I Hate ABout You, 50/50, Mysterious Skin or 500 Days Of Summer, while also getting recognition in bigger-budget films like Inception, Dark Knight Rises or Looper.

If you didn't like Don Jon, I'd be interested to read your thoughts on why you didn't like it or what, if anything, might have been changed to make it more enjoyable for you - but I (and others) will need more to go on than uninspired snark for that.

Da Shins Kelly

sabat wrote: »

Man enjoys ****, gets a girlfriend who doesn't like him ****, pretends to stop ****, gets caught ****, breaks up with girlfriend, meets a woman who teaches him that **** isn't everything.

From the comments here you'd think this was a modern masterpiece and not a half-baked idea torturously strung out into a film, but hey, the guy who made it played a character I liked in a sitcom I liked years ago so that makes it good.

Don't remember anyone saying it was a masterpiece. I think everyone just agrees that it's an entertaining film that actually has a bit of heart, and that it's a promising start for a young actor making his first attempt at directing. Your description of it is unfairly simplistic. Reduce any film to those kinds of terms and you can make it sound bad.

The film is entertaining and surprisingly heartfelt at times with some good performances. Sometimes there's a little too much going on and it can feel a little overcrowded, but that kind of focus is something that comes with practice and time.

The Corinthian

I saw it the other day and was pleasantly surprised about it. I almost didn't, as I'd heard it was about pornography addiction and so on and after 'Thanks for Sharing' had basically sent me to sleep, I wasn't crazy on another ninety-something minutes of moralistic psychobabble.

Warning: Minor spoilers follow.

Turns out that the movie has absolutely nothing to do with pornography - it's about superficiality and narcissism in modern society. Indeed, not all porn is portrayed negatively, and Esther (Julianne Moore) even recommends some to Jon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

For Jon this superficiality and narcissism is represented by the things he lists out at the beginning of the film, such as his church (where he confesses his sins weekly but is given the same penance regardless of what he confesses), family (who constantly shout and never listen, except for his sister) and of course porn. In others you find this superficiality and narcissism is also present, but also is present; such as his aforementioned parents and most notably in Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), who is presented as entitled, manipulative and addicted to romantic comedies.

In a final scene between Jon and Barbara, the comparison is made between her feeling of entitlement (that a man should do whatever she asks) and his use of porn and both are found to be 'one-way' or essentially selfish.

And so after hearing so many reviews, by reviewers who clearly are too dumb to understand what was going on or didn't bother watching it, going on about it being about porn, it was refreshing to find it had a more mature theme behind it all.

Not a masterpiece, but surprisingly enjoyable.