Review: Don Jon (2013)

I have every faith in Joseph Gordon-Levitt, I have been a fan of his since his Third Rock from the Sun and 10 Things I hate about you days.  So when I discovered that he has written, directed and starred in Don Jon, it became a must see for me.  I never once doubted JG-L's ability to succeed and I was right not to...

Don Jon has been on my radar for a while now, but knowing I could never bring myself to watch it with someone else has made it difficult to get round to watching! Jenna's review popping up in the drafts list gave me the push I needed.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays 'Don' Jon Martello a cocksure New Yorker who spends his time rating women with his friends and encountering one night stands with the higher scaled ladies and masturbating.  The voice over makes it abundantly clear that Jon is addicted to porn and fails to find the same satisfaction in real women. (This is when I thought it became predictable)  That is until he meets a 'solid 10' in rom-com lover Barbara (Scarlett Johansson) who refuses to sleep with him until she is good and ready. 

I really enjoyed this film, particularly the two halves that seemed like two different films.  The first half was a fast paced raunch fest, cut with porn scenes to emphasise Jon's addiction but still comical and the scenes with his friends in the bars were really funny. 

Yeah, the film's introduction was great, and as cringy as they were for me, the porn cut-ins were fantastically timed and really aided Don's story. I just couldn't stand Barbara though. I tried to picture Janice from Friends whenever she was on the screen (that's who she reminded me of) and that just didn't help me at all!

Then the second half surprised me, it became almost a romantic drama once Julianne Moore's character Esther got her toe in the mix.  It went from a comedy about porn addiction to a drama delving into these characters and finding out why they are the way they are.  This mix of two genres really made the film for me, I didn't expect it and when he met Barbara I thought I had the film penned (maybe Jon's confidence and attitude rubbed off on me) but this gave it a whole new depth.

It was definitely something different, and I do appreciate that. I've seen films that although enjoyable, are completely predictable so major kudos to Joseph Gordon-Levitt here. However, for me, the romance between Don and Esther was just too unbelievable, and a little uncomfortable to watch. I don't blame either actor/ess for that, it's just how I felt.

This movie never holds back, its got all the confidence of the lead character.  It never shies away from awkward, uncomfortable or damn right gross scenes instead it draws attention to them repeatedly.  Although, there were a few moments in this film where I cringed, the corridor scene outside Barbara's apartment had me covering my eyes but it was effective in showing Jon's desperation. I also found the family dinner scenes uncomfortable, but I think that was the effect they were going for, if so it definitely worked.  Basically, anything that made this film uncomfortable, made it better.

I liked how blunt and un-afraid Don Jon is, and it was a film like no other that I'd seen before. I was also surprised at Joseph Gordon-Levitt as an actor, as I would never picture him in a role like this, and he pulled it off well.

There's a cameo towards the beginning that I just had to text Jenna about (I was excited) and she told me that they were actually meant to have the lead role until Joseph took it for himself. I couldn't help but picture that actor in the role then and I think I might have preferred him!

Brilliant work from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and a real surprise, not at all what I expected.

An enjoyable and un-expected film all round, but sadly it's just not one for me.

Review: The Big Lebowski (1998)

To celebrate Flick Chicks receiving 10,000 page views, we wanted to do something fun and a little different to celebrate, so we asked you all to suggest a film (or a few!) for us to watch at our next movie night. Thanks to everyone who made some suggestions, there were more than a fair few that we hadn’t seen before! We chose one at random, which turned out to be The Big Lebowski, suggested by John at Hitchcock’s World. Thanks John! I have been meaning to watch this for a long time so I'm glad it got picked :-)

How can anyone really explain the plot to The Big Lebowski? It’s a crazy film! Here’s my best attempt. ‘The Dude’ Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) lives a simple life, and is part of a bowling team with his friends Walter (John Goodman) and Donnie (Steve Buscemi). One dreadful day, three guys break into his apartment demanding money owed to them. It’s a case of mistaken identity, but in their anger one of them urinates on The Dude’s rug. Walter convinces The Dude to go to The Big Lebowski to demand compensation.  Nailed it!

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of friends quite like it before. In fact, group isn’t the right word because any time Donnie tries to say anything, he is told quite rudely to shut up., meaning most of the film concentrates on The Dude and Walter, who lands The Dude in an amazing amount of trouble, but is faithfully loyal at least. I really enjoyed John Goodman in this, I think it’s the type of role he is born to play. Another favourite of mine is Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character, the bumbling assistant, who had a brilliant flair of humour.

I actually have to admit, I found John Goodman's character a little irritating, I kind of got tot he point where I thought, why would anyone be friends with this douchebag!  However, this does show his great acting skills because usually I love him.   I did feel better knowing the point of this meme:

The Big Lebowski is without a doubt one of the craziest films I’ve watched. I like to think that the perfect film is realistic with a touch of fantasy, and although this sits well outside that spectrum, it’s still brilliant, and I think that’s what makes it stand out so well. From throwing a bag of dirty underwear from the window of a moving car for a group of kidnappers to surreal dreams that make you feel high, there are very little ‘normal’ moments!  I have to agree, this film is insane and completely loses the plot at some points, but it remains entertaining all the way through, so even though the plot line is completely shot you're still interested.

This is one of those films (essentially a Coen Brothers film) where you have no idea what's coming next, you cannot predict this film with any certainty, nor would you want to.   The story is not that interesting to be fair but the characters more than make up for it with sharp dialogue and quirky drug induced fantasies.

There are a few people I know that haven’t seen this yet, but no one I’ve mentioned the film to has responded with ‘what?’. It’s just one of those films that everyone knows, I think because there’s nothing else out there like it. Other than Dude Where’s My Car perhaps which I’m getting the strong feeling is actually a spoof of The Big Lebowski. How I didn’t pick up on this before is beyond me!  I couldn't believe how much of this film was taken to Dude, Where's my car?  I kind of wish I had seen them in the right order now.  The moment when they walked out of the bowling alley and said 'Dude where's my car' me and Allie just looked at each other and burst out laughing.  Nice to know we are getting to the point where we have seen enough films to spot references and nods to other films :-)

I watched The Big Lebowski for the first time about 4 years ago, when I was forced by my now fiance, telling me it was the best film in the world. It’s his all-time favourite and I can see why. I’m really glad to have had an excuse to see it again and I urge anyone who hasn’t already seen it to give it a try!

I've never been a huge Coen Brothers fan (more because I have never liked the look of their films than from critical perspective) but I think I am coming round since this and Fargo, so I may have to keep on watching.  Just shows, you can't judge a DVD by it's cover ;-)