Review Roundup: DON JON - Joseph Gordon-Levitt Lives Every Player's Dream

Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a strong, handsome, good old fashioned guy. His buddies call him Don Jon due to his ability to "pull" a different woman every weekend, but even the finest fling doesn't compare to the bliss he finds alone in front of the computer watching pornography. Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson) is a bright, beautiful, good old fashioned girl.

Raised on romantic Hollywood movies, she's determined to find her Prince Charming and ride off into the sunset. Wrestling with good old fashioned expectations of the opposite sex, Jon and Barbara struggle against a media culture full of false fantasies to try and find true intimacy in this unexpected comedy written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. (c) Relativity Media. The flick hits theaters today.

Let's see what the critics have to say:

Elizabeth Weitzman, NY Daily News: "Though he senses them, Jon can't pinpoint the dangers of a hypersexualized culture built on unrealistic standards - be they found in rom-coms or pornography. But Gordon-Levitt can, and does, in ways that are so fast and funny, you may be too busy laughing to notice his artistry."

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: "Don Jon is about a man's unwitting search for intimacy, for real connection in a world where everyone is connected - by social media, by the Internet, by TV and computer and smartphone screens. That's not exactly an original idea. But Gordon-Levitt goes at it with gusto, and style. Give the guy some props."

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: "As Jon, Gordon-Levitt sports a buffed-up chest and hair greased into a stylish oil slick, and he speaks in low, flat tones, giving a witty turn as a studly 'Guido' who digs his life of anonymous sex and control; he's like The Situation without the fame or preening smarm."

Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York: "As with many a first feature, Gordon-Levitt's so-so directorial debut is pumped up with ambition. The early scenes, heavy on caricature, promise to puncture much of the cocky illusions surrounding modern relationships."

Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter: "The ending suggests some possible serious impulses behind Gordon-Levitt's intentions for this material, but while it's true that you can't really show the cure without exploring the sickness that necessitated it, the fact remains that the director positively luxuriates in his character's addiction. There's a heavy testosterone-driven pushiness -- rather than a deeply felt sex drive as an Elemental force of nature that's crucial to this man's self-expressiveness -- that soon becomes obnoxious, and a lack of self-reflection that leaves Jon, and the film with him, frustratingly one-dimensional."

Peter Debruge, Variety: "Perhaps the most amazing thing about "Don Jon's Addiction" is the fact that Gordon-Levitt could have spun a porn-free version of this love story as an all-audience crowdpleaser, but instead, he opted to engage with what's shaping up to be a real pandemic, as porn increasingly infects the expectations men put on the opposite sex. Where Steve McQueen's "Shame" took the more obtuse artfilm approach to this sex-obsessed phenom, Gordon-Levitt weaves the topic into a broadly accessible romantic comedy, one that ultimately uses its in-your face style to sneak a few old-fashioned insights about how self-centered guys can learn to respect their partners."

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: "Against the backdrop of everything in the culture designed to keep visual consumers in a suspended "hornified" state, to borrow a made-up word heard in "Date With Destiny," Jon's addiction seems both extreme and mundane. That's why "Don Jon," in its compact form, works. It's a dark comedy about matters of the heart, and how far some people go to take their minds off such matters."

William Goss, Film.com: ""Don Jon" is often light on its feet, bolstered by the reliable charms and writing chops of its leading man. He nails the accent and swagger of a man who's both smart and shallow, convinced that his relentless masturbation is no big deal and deluded into believing that his romantic relationships ought to fall in line with the phony example of so many dirty movies"

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