Don Jon

A love story... about a man and himself.   Joseph Gordon-Levitt has taken quite a twist on the romantic comedy by interjecting some unspoken social mores into the familiar story arc.  Will the real life woman win out in the end, or will the imaginary lover never let him down?

My ride, my pad, my boys, my girls, my porn.  That is Jon's mantra for his single life.  He's the Don - Don Jon.  He trolls the club with his buddies to find a suitable hookup, and he is usually successful.  He loves them and leaves them because real women are just too messy for his tidy slice of life.   He'd rather find a good video online and rub one out.

 But when he meets Barbara (a dime, a 10, Scarlett Johannson of course) he falls for her and seeks to make her his own.  But just when he seems to succeed, she catches him in flagrante with himself.  As if on cue, she's out the slamming door.  And Jon has a decision to make.

The filmmaking adds to the familiar story with the repeat visual shots:  Jon walking into the gym, Jon lifting, Jon walking into church, his sister texting.   She's a pretty cool character.

And there is a lot of familiar movie nods:  The dad in the strap t-shirt (Tony Danza), the movie-within-a movie (just like in Friends with Benefits, another sexually charged Rom-Com), the comedic confessional, the browser history.

This was unexpected - I didn't expect the romantic move angle to be tracked/skewered with the porn affection to be the "other woman".    It worked.  An improvement could have been to move a bit further from the traditional Rom-Com but perhaps that is what makes it as good as it is.

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