One of the Best of the Year

Rating: 9/10 (18 September 2013)

I attended a screening last night of Don Jon, starring, written, and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and was very glad I got the chance to. I was curious about 2 things going into the movie. One, was to see how Gordon-Levitt would do as both a director and writer. Acting I wasn't concerned with because he's one of the best out there today. Well, for his first time out, he nailed it. The story was great and one of the most original I've seen in a long time. Could possibly be the best movie I've seen all year. Number two, I was curious how Tony Danza would be, as it was odd picturing him being in a rated R movie, and trust me, he didn't disappoint. You'll hear him say many things you never heard on Who's the Boss. But he was great all around. There were moments when he reminded me of my dad.
But I was kind of blown away by the movie. I was hoping to laugh and I really didn't see it being a typical romantic comedy by any means, and believe me, anyone expecting that will be highly disappointed, sorry ladies. This movie is definitely from a guy's prospective and JGL isn't the sweet, golden boy type character by any means. His character has a lot of layers and that's one of the reasons the movie is as good as it is. Its not your typical R rated comedy either. It falls in between comedy and drama, but mostly, it is just a character study of a man with addiction issues, which lead to relationship issues, and so on and so forth. Its just done in a way where the movie doesn't come off as heavy or preachy and is fun to watch. It just tells the character of Jon's story and I think there are parts that almost every guy can relate to in one way or another, which provides a lot of the laughs. I'm sure some of the websites Jon uses will be familiar to some as well, wink, wink.
And aside from JGL and Danza, the rest of the cast is great too. Scarlett was looking as good as ever and was spot on in her role. Julianne Moore was used wisely and gave another solid performance, almost reminiscent of her role in Boogie Nights. One of my favorites was Brie Larson. She doesn't get much screen time but pay attention to her because it pays off in the end.
I'm a huge fan of this film and can't wait to see what Gordon-Levitt can do in the future. I give it a 9 out of 10 and is a must watch.