Don Jon [Blu-ray]

A fresh turn on relationship films
Don Jon is a witty and thoughtful film about relationships. Jon treats everything in his life as objects he gains pleasure from, including the women he "scores" every weekend. But nothing can compare to the porn he accesses on his computer. The real life girls have the complications of being, well, REAL and don't always exactly match his lofty expectations. The porn girls don't disappoint, so he always returns to them.

Jon is a creature of habit - from his workout routine, to going to church (and confession, although he never actually changes his behavior), to cleaning his apartment, to Sunday dinner with his family (his family is wonderfully portrayed by Tony Danza, Glenn Headly and Brie Larson. All hilarious and convincing). When he meets Barbara (Scarlett Johannson), things are turned somewhat upside down. She's a true "10" and Jon is willing to change himself to get a chance to sleep with her. As much as Jon objectifies her as a sex object, she also...

`There's only a few things I really care about in life. My body. My pad. My family. My church. My boys. My girls. My porn.'
Joseph Gordon-Levitt keeps testing his boundaries as an artist and that is to be applauded. The strength of his performances in the past few films grows steadily and now he branches out in to writing, directing, and starring in a film that is truly his own. Is it a great film? No, but it is an inventive one - and that is a breath of fresh air in the current Marvel Comics shoot-`em-bang-bang-explode obsession. The fact that it deals with the current focus on sex-rated themes may be off putting to many, but that the theme is solely that speaks loudly for a young writer/director to register a parody of our current shaky quasi-relationship fad.

There is not a lot of story so the more brief the synopsis the better: A New Jersey guy, Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) dedicated to his family, friends, and church, develops unrealistic expectations from watching porn and works to find happiness and intimacy with his potential true love. Though he has many sexual liaisons those...

Joseph Gordon-Levitt writes, directs, & stars in 'Don Jon'
If you believe the porn industry has no relevance in the modern world, you're sadly mistaken. Like it or loathe it, porn is big business, earning somewhere in the ballpark of $10-15 billion per year. Much like Hollywood, the adult film industry has stars of its own, a few of which have managed to become household names, most notably of which include Linda Lovelace, Jenna Jameson, and Ron Jeremy. It should come as no surprise that pornography has been around since man began using the printing press, and speaking of men, they are by far and away (statistically) the greatest abusers of the material. As it pertains to relationships, and depending who you ask, porn will either ruin a relationship or stimulate a relationship. All of this and more, including the impact porn has on the male species and how it comes into play during relationships happens to be the basis for the new comedy, Don Jon.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes his feature length directorial debut, also writing...

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