The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Joseph Gordon Levitt takes on the subject of sex, addiction, obsession and the importance of human intimacy in his audacious and racy directorial debut, Don Jon.  

The story centres on Jon Martello (Gordon-Levitt); a Jersey-born bartender who lives a seemingly routine and simple life. He spends his days working out at the gym, before going to church to redeem his sins, eats Sunday lunch with his family and at night, he hangs out with his posse of boys.

But Jon has a secret; a porn addiction that has distorted his relationship with women – all of whom are assigned a rating between one and ten. And no matter how satisfying intercourse with a real woman can be, in his mind, nothing beats the joys of internet porn.

However, his shallow and selfish stance on intimacy and relationships soon change when he meets Barbara Sugarman (Johansson); a modest Catholic girl who continuously rejects his charm.  Instantly, Jon is smitten, and he quickly certifies her as someone worth pursuing.

The two soon begin to date and while Barbara – whose own views of relationships are distorted warped thanks to her love of romantic chick flicks – tries to manipulate her way to his heart, Jon struggles to keep his porn addiction in check. Through his quest of re-examining his values and ethics, Jon comes across Esther (Moore); an older woman who might just have the answers he’s been looking for.

Fast-paced, raunchy and incredibly racy, Don Jon marks a powerful filmmaking debut from Gordon-Levitt. As the lead, he delivers a strong and incredibly charming performance of a man whose personal ideals are getting in the way of forming a real connection with the opposite sex. As the object of Jon’s desire, Johansson – equipped with a strong Jersey accent – is a perfect fit as his object of desire, while Moore, as the eccentric older woman, brings in an incredible amount of weight to the story, without ever being overly dramatic.

 Don Jon’s use of the repetitive and fast-paced sequence progression is clever, and helps outline the obsessive nature of its characters. The dialogue is frank, witty and raw, while the storyline – filled with plenty of explicit material – is strangely well-balanced, offering an insight into the world of sexual dependency and addiction.  

Don Jon is a thoroughly enjoyable piece of entertainment; engaging and racy, the film is open and honest. Admittedly, many may not feel comfortable enough to fully embrace its very unambiguous approach to the subject, but one cannot help but be impressed by Gordon-Levitt’s rise from the skinny, long-haired alien from 3rd Rock from the Sun, to one of the hottest names in Hollywood.