Joseph Gordon-Levitt wrote/directed/stars in Don Jon, the story of a Guido whose pursuit of a stunning hottie (Scarlett Johansson) is stymied by his porn addiction. With help from an older woman (Julianne Moore), he recognizes what will really make him happy.
It’s just a light comedy, but Gordon-Levitt has a very smart take on romantic comedy – one that takes some unexpected turns until a moment of self discovery. Gordon-Levitt is getting good parts (Inception, 50/50, Looper, Lincoln) and big paychecks (The Dark Knight Rises), so he doesn’t have to write his own stuff – but I’m glad that he gave us Don Jon.
Just when I had branded the entire genre brain dead, several smart and engaging romantic comedies popped up in 2012. The most inventive was Ruby Sparks,in which a shy writer writes about his imagined perfect love object until…she becomes real. Yes, suddenly he has a real life girlfriend of his own design. Ruby Sparks takes this fantasy of a perfect partner and explores the limits of a partner that you have designed yourself. The biggest star in Ruby Sparks is its leading lady Zoe Kazan’s ingenious screenplay – funny without being silly, profound without being pretentious, bright without being precious.
Also co-written by its female star, in this case Rashida Jones, Celeste and Jesse Forever is about a couple that is now working on an amiable divorce and are still best friends. Once you accept the comic premise that this couple is made for each other but not as a married couple, everyone’s behavior is authentic. Sure, he wants to get back with her when she isn’t in a place to do that – and, then, vice versa – but the characters resolve the conflict as they would in real life. Here’s a mini-spoiler – this movie is just too smart to end in rushing to the airport or disrupting the wedding or any of the other typical rom com contrivances.
Similarly, the best thing about The Five-Year Engagement is the authenticity of the situation. There are no wacky plot devices; this story could all really happen – and is the narrative for some couples today.
Drew Barrymore and Justin Long star in that rarity – a sweet, smart, funny and successful romantic comedy for adults. Screenwriter Geoff LaTulippe tries a novel approach that respects the audience- creating characters like the ones we know in real life, who talk and act like real people do. Instead of an implausible set-up, the conflict here is the real problem of a bi-coastal romance.
Her sister, played by Christina Applegate, is wound very tight for comic effect, but I know people like her. His friends are WAY eccentric, but their exaggerated quirkiness delivers laughs without distracting from the central romance. Going the Distance has the toilet humor of a guy flick, but both genders were yukking it up at the screening I attended.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt wrote/directed/stars in Don Jon, the story of a Guido whose pursuit of a stunning hottie (Scarlett Johansson) is stymied by his porn addiction. With help from an older woman (Julianne Moore), he recognizes what will really make him happy.