Don Jon (2013)
- The original script for Don Jon was written over a decade before production finally began in 2013.
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Joseph Gordon-Levitt's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
- The incredible score for Don Jon was composed in just a few weeks after the original composer dropped out.
Don Jon is a 2013 American romantic comedy-drama written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in his directorial debut. Gordon-Levitt stars as Jon Martello, a New Jersey Italian-American gym enthusiast and serial womanizer whose compulsive pornography consumption has warped his expectations of real intimacy. When Jon meets Barbara Sugarman, played by Scarlett Johansson, a gorgeous woman who refuses to sleep with him on the first date โ a first for Jon โ he becomes obsessed with winning her while secretly maintaining his porn habit.
Their relationship forces Jon to confront how both porn and romantic comedies create unrealistic expectations about love and sex. Julianne Moore appeared as an older, grieving woman who teaches Jon the difference between performance and genuine connection. Joseph Gordon-Levitt's direction was confident and stylish, using repetitive visual motifs โ church confession, gym routines, apartment cleaning โ to mirror Jon's compulsive behavior patterns.
Don Jon earned $41 million worldwide on a $6 million budget.
