Let’s establish this first and foremost: Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s (“Lincoln”) directorial debut is about a porn addict. Yes, you read that correctly. This is a strange topic to center a movie around, and it’s just one of the factors that simply did not work in this movie.

“Don Jon” has some major stars, including surprising and brief cameos from Anne Hathaway (“Les Misérables”) and Channing Tatum (“White House Down”). The acting, therefore, is not a problem. Gordon-Levitt and Scarlett Johansson (“Hitchcock”), the pseudo-leading lady, effectively portray flashy New Jersey natives, though Johansson’s constant chomping of gum gets old very fast. Ultimately, the character depth and plotline development are severely lacking.

Gordon-Levitt’s character, Jon, is the only character who could be argued to have any semblance of depth. At the beginning of the film, Jon narrates that the only things he cares about are his family, his church, his body and his girls. These passions never change throughout the film, so the audience never learns anything new about him. Johansson’s character, Barbara, is not even given a background story. The only thing the audience knows about her is that she has a good body and is a demanding girlfriend.

All other characters in the movie are completely two-dimensional. Jon’s sister is in many scenes — because the family always goes to church together and eats together — but she literally has one line in the entire movie. In all other scenes, she is on her phone texting. This does not add anything to the movie except a few quick laughs due to the absurdity.

This movie is characterized as a comedy, and while the audience laughed where appropriate, the comedic situations were always produced by crudeness. When John’s father — played by Tony Danza (“The Fran Drescher Show”) — or Jon are screaming and swearing or Jon is watching porn at inopportune times, the scene gets a good reaction out of the crowd. But these glimmers of comedy don’t add to the film’s overall quality.

The actual directing of the film is intriguing and modern. The plot moves along in unique ways, like when Jon goes to confession at church every week, indicating that another week has passed. The editing includes many choppy and quick transitions, making the film’s style a good complement to the bold nature of the subject matter. Throughout the movie, the sound of a computer turning on symbolized Jon watching porn, which helped the movie not get too explicit.

This first half of the movie centers around porn and Jon’s daily routine, like going to the gym and cleaning. Everything is relatively predictable. After Jon and Barbara break up, a new storyline between Jon and Esther, played by Julianne Moore (“30 Rock”), develops this movie about porn into something even weirder.

Esther is the older and wiser woman who somehow has insights into Jon’s life. She seems like a very complex character, but the audience isn’t given enough time to figure her out. The simplistic good character versus bad character relationship between Esther and Barbara is a testament to the plethora of shallow characters in this film. Jon’s transition between the two women is also glossed over, and Barbara basically disappears from the movie. Neither love story is developed well, leaving much to be desired from both storylines.

Jon learns a profound lesson from Esther that relationships are two-way streets. After this realization, he miraculously stops watching porn. The audience is left unsettled with a strange love story and an abrupt ending.

Those looking for a few laughs as a result of porn addiction and road rage will get quick satisfaction out of this movie, but anyone who enjoys a quality storyline and relatable characters is out of luck. Gordon-Levitt shows some potential with his directing choices, but the script, which he also wrote, doesn’t do him any justice.

1.5 out of 5 stars