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Blu-ray Review: DON JON

Jan 03, 2014 Posted by in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

“There’s only a few things I really care about in life. My body…my pad…my ride…my family…my church…my boys…my girls…and my porn.”

Jon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a player, hitting the club every night looking for at least an “8” to take home, earning him the nickname of “The Don” from his friends Bobby (Rob Brown) and Danny (Jeremy Luke). While Jon enjoys sex with these woman, there’s only one thing that truly gives him pleasure, and that is porn. Nothing feels as exciting and real to him as his porn. However, that may change when he finally meets the girl of his dreams, a “10” named Barbara (Scarlett Johansson). This Jersey princess wastes no time trying to turn Jon into the man of her Hollywood romantic movie dreams—from changing the way he dresses, to sending him back to night school so he can get a better job, to forbidding his porn. Don Jon explores the comedy and drama of Jon’s struggle to overcome his porn addiction, become the man he wants to be and find true happiness in life.

Rounding out Jon’s world are his night school classmate Esther (Julianne Moore), his lecherous father Jon Sr. (Tony Danza), his eager-to-be-a-grandmother mother Angela (Glenne Headly), and his wise but silent sister Monica (Brie Larson). I wish Brie Larson had been given a little more to do as she can be so funny. Danza and Headly are hilarious and make the family dinner scenes so much fun to watch. And Moore delivers a great performance in both her dramatic and her comedic scenes.

The film itself is quite well done. It is broken into three acts, each with it’s own unique camera and soundtrack style which reflect the stage of Jon’s life journey. This is done so subtly and cleverly that you don’t even notice it at first. But once you do, it adds a whole new appreciation for the level of thought that went into making this film.

The writing is clever, adding a lot of humor to the drama while still maintaining a sense of believability. Many scenes serve to further both the comedy and the drama at the same time. One area where this blending of the two works perfectly is Jon’s weekly sex report in the church confessional—while there’s the humor of the situation, Jon’s reaction to the penance imposed by the priest also helps further the story of his emotional journey.

The Blu-ray presentation itself looks good, though it definitely has an “independent film” feel to it, and the lower-def inter-cut images of porn can be a bit jarring when compared with high-def quality of the rest of the film. (Though, this may have been an aesthetic choice by the filmmaker.) The soundtrack, on the other hand, is great and captures all of the dialogue and unique musical scores of each act. As for bonus features, there is about a half-hour of interesting behind-the-scenes interviews with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and some of the other cast and crew, as well as a compilation of viewer’s short videos.

Overall, I found Don Jon to be well-written, well-acted, cleverly-directed, and a nice blend of comedy and drama. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has done an excellent job writing/directing his first feature film. This disc is definitely one worth checking out.



What’s Included:

Film (1:30:08):

    Blu-ray:

    • 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
    • Audio: English DTS-HD-MA 5.1
    • Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

    DVD:

    • Widescreen 2.40:1
    • Audio: English DD 5.1
    • Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

    Digital Copy: (Redemption Deadline 12/31/2015)

    • iTunes Digital Copy (requires DVD to transfer)
    • UltraViolet DigitalHD Copy redeemable via Vudu or Target Ticket

Extras (Blu-ray only):

  • Making of Don Jon (6:45)
    A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film. Includes interviews with writer/director/star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, production designer Meghan C. Rogers, cinematographer Thomas Kloss, and costume designer Leah Katznelson.
  • Don Jon’s Origin (7:20)
    Joseph Gordon-Levitt talks about the evolution of the film from his initial idea 5 years prior, to writing the script, and through the production and casting process.
  • Joe’s Hats! (4:50)
    Joseph Gordon-Levitt talks about serving triple-duty as actor, writer and director. He gives some thoughts on his approach to rehearsals and the overall structure of film.
  • Objectified (5:07)
    Actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore and Tony Danza talk about how the film explores how people and the media objectify one another.
  • Themes and Variations (5:39)
    Composer Nathan Johnson talks about the different styles of music and musicians used for each of the film’s three acts.
  • HitRECord Shorts (13:09)
    Joseph put out a request for folks to submit their own art projects and videos answering the question “Can you love a thing?”. The videos contained here are his initial request, along with some of the responses he received. Play All or select from: “My Favorite Things Request Video”, “My Favorite Things Remix”, “My Favorite Things Remix: Film Preservation”, “My Favorite Things Remix: Love of Objects”, and “Vinegar”.
  • Theatrical Trailer (2:26)
  • Sneak Peek (5:03)
    Play All or select from trailers for “Robocop”, “Runner Runner”, and The Americans Season 1.

 


Final Thoughts:

My Rating
Film:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Recommended

Don Jon is a nice blend of humor and drama. The story is interesting and well written, and does a great job of making you feel for the characters and get invested in their well-being. The disc contains a small amount of extras, but the 30-minutes or so of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage provide some interesting insights into the movie. This is definitely worth checking out.