Oscars 2014: 10 Movies The Academy Should Consider (But Won't)

10. Don Jon - Best Original Screenplay

Don Jon was a film that seemingly came and went this year, after making a few splashes at Sundance before enjoying a modest box office run in September. The film is the directorial debut of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who wrote and starred in it as well. Sadly, it will most likely go unnoticed by the Academy, though it's certainly deserving of a Best Original Screenplay nom for Gordon-Levitt. JGL stars and Jon Martello, a modern day Don Juan who cares about a very short list of things: his body, pad, ride, family, church, boys, girls, and most importantly, porn. He has an active sex life yet watches pornography habitually, and actually prefers it to sex. Most likely, that plot synopsis will cause many viewers to say, "nah, I'm good," and watch something else instead. But what they would be missing is not just a movie about a guy with porn addiction, but something that's so much more. What JGL ended up doing was tell a story about a lot of things, including how society and the media have swayed how both men and women view sex and relationships. Jon has learned all of the wrong lessons from porn, whereas his girlfriend, played wonderfully by Scarlett Johansson, has learned all of the wrong lessons about relationships from cliche romantic comedies. It's a film about very real relationships, and deals with themes of fantasy, love, intimacy, and addiction in unexpected ways; elevating what would have in any other director's hands been a more straightforward, misguided comedy.