Love in the time of porn

‘Don Jon’ delivers more than just laughs

By Aidan Mouellic, Staff Writer

5/5

In Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut, Don Jon, viewers are presented with a slice of modern day love.

The film follows Jon (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who is a typical New Jersey guido except for his addiction to Internet pornography. He loves his porn, but he then meets the woman of his dreams who is not a porn fan. Barbara (played by Scarlett Johansson) thinks that porn is disgusting and lets Jon know this. Hilarity ensues in the porn storm, but Jon learns some important lessons when he meets a cougar named Esther (played by the timeless Julianne Moore) in his weekly night class.

Don Jon is an exceptional comedy that manages to mix important sociological topics within the framework of an entertaining story. Somehow the deep and dark topics that are explored in the film do not leave viewers feeling low, but instead uplifted and motivated—especially for people who watch a lot of porn.

While exiting the theatre, I spoke with a young man who said he saw the film because he heard it was about a porn addict and that the film has motivated him to try to change his porn habits.

For a film to make people want to change their lives, that says a lot. Don Jon is a winner that combines top humour with a great message and achieves excellent results along the way.