Romantic Fantasies, that's all this movie is about.

Rating: 6/10 (27 December 2013)

First of all, great acting from everyone in this movie. The characters were portrayed just as they are meant to be portrayed. Only thing is, the characters are the problem.
Dialogue portraying stereotypes spoken by stereotypes and an unrealistic deus-ex-machina that feels forced. The woman lost her husband and kid and she falls in love with a Jon in just a few classes? Okay, she wants to lose herself, but if she really is that devastated, she shouldn't be all 'super romantic movie'-like in the last few scenes, which also contradicts what the movie tries to tell us. Yes, she feels forced and unrealistic.
Second, when a director tries to make the audience think about a subject, he should let us think. Though, Levitt thought of us as teenagers and thought he had to spell everything out for us.
Porn, apparently, is just as much faking as a cliché romantic movie. Only thing is, in porn and these over the top romantic movies an ideal is superficialized so much it takes out the joy of the real thing. We become so ego-centric wanting to reach our goals, it makes it impossible to get these experiences between two people. Great life-lesson, Levitt, but don't make me feel like an idiot.
Furthermore, the 'story' of Jon is not very interesting. It's quite hard to relate to a portrayal of a stereotype. The means of them are to be superficial. It's only when the deus-ex-machina comes crashing in that I started seeing some realness, but it was too late. If more time had been spend on deepening the stereotype Jon was, it could have been a really good personal revolution. That or it should have been a lot more focused on the cultural aspect of the superficial dreams the movie felt reaching for. Too bad it couldn't decide and delivered an unfinished part of both.
Then the music. I really liked the used of 'super romantic' music during the kissing scenes. An original way of telling how Barbara, the hot-rod actress Scarlet, was imagining her own romantic movie scene. Though a memorable soundtrack or a soundtrack at all was not present.
Gordon-Levitt's debut is not something very unique or original, apart from the subject it's addressing and the amount of boobs shown in just under a minute. Yet, the lesson it tries to tell you does open your eyes. I will listen to what more Levitt has to say in the future, I just hope he will do it better.