“There’s only a few things I really care about in life. My body. My pad. My ride. My family. My church. My boys. My girls. My porn.” Why? Because porn lets him do something real women can’t: lose himself. All that starts to change, though, when he meets Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson), a woman with sex appeal even stronger than her accent. Her one condition for them dating? Give up the porn. He agrees to stop buffing the banana – then gets right back to polishing it the following evening. Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut sounds like a dark, edgy movie. It certainly starts off that way, with a hyperactive montage of sexualised images from modern society: advertising, music videos, movies, the internet. All of them, Don Jon suggests, contribute to this conditioned environment, which leaves Jon preferring playing with himself to other people.Behind the camera, Gordon-Levitt keeps beating off those rhythms, as flurries of images flick together like tabs in a web browser. The film’s hard edge, though, soon softens into something surprisingly conventional. Gone is the harsh satire; in its place, the more heart-warming story of a man trying to find redemption. But Gordon-Levitt’s charisma isn’t something to toss off lightly. Singing Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch while driving his car, the casting choice could seem like the actor pleasuring himself, but he’s perfect as the lost lunkhead. He and Scarlett Johansson (sporting a near-unrecognisable drawl) rub each other up just the right way to keep you interested. The rest of the cast don’t blow their jobs either; Glenne Headly as Jon’s mum brings real laughs, while Tony Danza steals scenes as his proud – and leering – dad. Enter Julianne Moore as Esther, a student on a course Barbara orders Jon to take. A gentle cushion of fresh air, her understated presence delivers depth to the film’s overstated presentation. Crying, smiling and even stripping, she gives what could have been a one-sided exercise an engaging climax. The result is an uneven, but entertaining 90 minutes in a darkened room. You may never quite lose yourself in it, but still, it’s more fun than diddling the Skittle or slapping the – you get the idea. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.