Sharp Stick

In writer/director Lena Dunham's edgy, original, cheap indie "Sharp Stick" quietly on-the-spectrum care-worker Kristine Froseth lives in Hollywood with hippy-dippy single mum Jennifer Jason Leigh & wannabe internet sensation sis Taylor Paige (the rising star so good again). At 26 virgin Froseth suddenly undergoes a sexual awakening, first via simple Jon Bernthal (hubbie of Dunham, the parents of the Down Syndrome lad Froseth cares for) then thru various strangers she uses to tick off a check-list built thru watching porn (!) particularly her fave adult-star Scott Speedman. It's certainly out there, with meaning unclear, but is well-cast, original, watchable fare.

Because Jon Bernthal, I watched this film, when I saw its rating, I hesitated for a long time. But I still gathered my courage and opened it. After watching it, my mind was greatly shocked. I simply couldn't believe what I had seen. This film exuded a strange and uncomfortable feeling from beginning to end. Just a few minutes into it, I felt extremely tortured - the plot was incomprehensible, a complete mess, and chaotic... I don't understand why Kristine Froseth acted like this. She made me feel uncomfortable, making her look either stupid or mentally challenged. But I believe she's not that bad. And Lena Dunham, could you please get out of the frame? Her acting was terrible, and I don't want to see her on screen anymore. Jon gave a decent performance and showed off his physique. To my surprise, Ebon was also in this film.

There were too many parts of this film that I couldn't understand, making me want to quickly find some other good movies to cleanse my eyes.

(I wrote the review in Chinese, but the website doesn't allow me to send it in Chinese, so I used a translator to translate it into English)

I watched Sharp Stick as an in-flight movie so not at optimal picture quality, but it was still a reasonably enjoyable movie.

The main problem is the age and character of the main protagonist. As another reviewer commented, it seems as though she was written as a much younger character, but made older in the final script (possibly to avoid offending current paranoia/social mores?) It isn't really credible that any woman in her mid-twenties, living in LA, wouldn't have heard of basic intimate acts. Particularly with a very sassy, savvy sister.

There is a lot of intimate action in this, though in terms of nudity it's not explicit. I thought the first scenes were well done, but the central plot of adultery was somewhat brushed aside along with the husband and wife. Why she later does what she does - extreme behaviour/acts for anyone - didn't seem very realistic.

I did enjoy Scott Speedman as adult actor Vance. Luka Sabbat was also very good, although the final "happy ending" (not intended as a pun though I suppose it could be!) wasn't convincing, and was odd. I didn't feel the animated sequences really fit the tone of the rest of the movie.

But all in all it's interesting and certainly worth a view on a long haul flight.

Lena Dunham should stop directing movies. Ultimately, the success of a movie with strong feminist themes depends on its execution, the perspective of the viewer, and how well it balances its message with other elements of storytelling. A lot of people may argue that presenting strong feminist themes can be empowering and helps to challenge societal norms, encouraging positive change. However, Dunham fails to create a good quality movie, all of her work is boring and meaningless and fails to even pass a message and educate younger girls (this is a coming of age movie). I am not even sure why I watched it. I believe I was prejudiced before I even saw it.

As "Sharp Stick" (2022 release; 86 min) opens, we are introduced to Treina and Sarah Jo, sisters in their 20s living at home with mom. Sarah Jo is 26 and still a virgin. She works as a nanny/housekeeper of sorts and one day she makes a move onto Josh, her employer and a married father...

Couple of comments: this is the latest project from writer-producer-director Lena Dunham, who for good measure also stars (as Josh's wife). Even though the movie's premise seems a little unlikely, given the standard of excellence typically exhibited in Dunham's projects, I decided to give this a try. Alas, I shouldn't have. I don't know exactly what happened here, but something went very wrong. Bottom line is that I never bought into any of the characters, least of all Sarah Jo as the 26 yo virgin. And the storyline doesn't feel credible or likely for most of this either. Despite some great acting talent attached to this (including Kristine Froseth. Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Jon Bernthal, just to name those, this movie just didn't do anything for me, sorry...

"Sharp Stick" bypassed US theaters altogether and went straight to VOD upon its release this past summer. It recently started streaming on Hulu, where I caught it. I can't really recommend this to anyone in good conscience. Of course don't take my word for it, so if you are a fan of Dunham's prior output, I'd suggest you check this out (with lowered expectations), and draw your own conclusion.