The Don's In Love With You (Film Review: Don Jon)

There's this thing I call the Saturday Night Movie, and "Don Jon" fits that bill to a T. It's that kind of movie you just want to see without really thinking much about, and in the end gives you a (predictable) lesson painted with bold strokes. Written and Directed by Joseph Gordon Leavitt, this is the kind of movie that just breezes through, with enough jokes to keep you entertained, with enough skin for it to appeal to both sexes, so voila, Saturday night you're on! The thing is, Levitt is smart. This is a smart mature movie and you would never have guessed this was a debut effort by Levitt. The script is pistol-sharp, and he gets fantastic performances from everyone involved, especially Tony Danza as your typical yesteryear chauvinistic father. And what is this about me really warming up to Scarlett Johanssen? After "Her," she now has power over me to like each of her performances. (I mean, I think I am that one person who wasn't impressed with her Tony award winning Broadway performance!)  Julianne Moore shows us what sensitivity, sensuality and sexuality really means, and Levitt himself gives an impressive performance. Levitt the Direcor is smart enough that he slips that little message in a negligee. We may be a little titillated by all of the movie, but we also get the film's reason for being: that making love is empty when the love is not there.