Don Jon (2013)

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A New Jersey guy dedicated to his family, friends, and church, develops unrealistic expectations from watching porn and works to find happiness and intimacy with his potential true love.

Title
"Don Jon" is a 2013 American romantic comedy-drama movie composed and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The movie stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Rob Brown, and Tony Danza.

Plot Summary
"Don Jon" follows the story of a modern-day Don Juan-type character called Jon Martello (played by Gordon-Levitt), a young Italian-American from New Jersey who is addicted to pornography. Jon is a conventional man who enjoys his task, household, church, buddies, and women, but finds more satisfaction in pornography than in real-life sexual encounters. His good friends label him 'Don Jon' for his ability to pull "10s" each weekend without fail.

Main Characters
Levitt's character, "Jon" is not simply a ladies' male but likewise a devout Catholic, stressing his encounters with routines of confession and penance. Johansson's character, Barbara Sugarman, is a lively young woman who Jon fulfills at a club and succumbs to. In spite of their chemistry, he discovers himself not able to stop his old habits. Tony Danza plays Jon's daddy, a male attached to his old ways. Julianne Moore plays Esther, an older trainee in Jon's night class who supplies the voice of wisdom and perspective.

Dispute and Resolution
The film explores the dispute between Jon's unrealistic expectations from his pornography addiction and the truth of relationships. When Barbara catches Jon seeing pornography, she is heartbroken and ends their relationship. Jon, feeling disillusioned and empty, forms an unlikely friendship with Esther in his night class. Esther exposes that she discovered his porn addiction and, rather of being disgusted, she reveals understanding, making Jon recognize he's been using porn as a way to leave from his real concerns.

Themes
Throughout the movie, the central style is the contrast in between desire and love and how they impact relationships. The character development of Jon, from egotistical Don Juan to a man capable of real intimacy, enhances this theme. It also extensively goes over the media influence on relationships and unrealistic expectations, as evidenced by Jon's dependency to pornography and Barbara's fascination with romantic Hollywood films.

Conclusion
Through this unexpected friendship with Esther, Jon is able to face his addiction and realize the value of a well-rounded relationship beyond sex. Esther encourages Jon to look beyond physicality and comprehend the psychological element of a relationship, helping him to grow and gain the ability for real intimacy. In the end, Jon forms a much deeper connection with Esther, ending up being a more genuine variation of himself-- a man who can really like, not just lust.

"Don Jon" is a smart, insightful, and uncommon romantic funny that is more about self-realization and breaking societal conditioning than about achieving standard love. It leaves audiences with the thought-provoking message that genuine love is more satisfying than superficial enjoyment.

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