Sharp Stick

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.

There's a lot of Lena Dunham haters out there, but I'm actually not one of them, even though I think she's not as clever a writer as she seems to think she is. Nevertheless, I enjoyed TINY FURNITURE, I thought GIRLS was a worthwhile show, her direction of the INDUSTRY pilot was strong. All I'm doing here is establishing that I can be objective about Dunham's work...

Okay...so SHARP STICK. I did not enjoy it. It is a character study of a naive, but damaged young woman named Sarah Jo. She's a 26-year old virgin who had to have a hysterectomy in high school. (My wife endured a similar ordeal, although somewhat later in life, so that part of the story moved me.) But the way Sarah Jo is written came off as completely false to me. Her journey of sexual discovery would have been more interesting if we the audience could determine what exactly of value she learned about herself? She has a dysfunctional blended family that we learn almost nothing about. Why are they the way they are? Is that really Jennifer Jason Leigh and what is she doing here? The sex scenes aren't sexy, the scenes that should be comedic are flat or just plain baffling and at the end of the movie it felt like Dunham thought she had made some grand statement about female sexuality and personal discovery, but I was just confused and kind of grossed out. Skip this if it shows up on your Hulu home page.

An interesting movie with an interesting premise.it has its moments, but not very many.

One thing about this movie gets me. How can a 27 year old be this niece or stupid. I get the shes a Virgin and doesn't know a lot about sex. But this girl is very stupid about everything. People have to be blunt with her and explain things. They just make her seem dumb.

This is a movie just to watch and not get caught up in it. If you're looking for nudity or a sexy movie, this is not it. I wouldn't recommend this movie for a popcorn flick. Go watch something else. If you desire clothes on sex, this is the movie for you.

The good: beautiful photography, with really good actors performing well and delivering dialogues that are truly good. So what's wrong with it then?

The bad: the leading actress (however good an actress she might be) over acts. She acts way too naive to be believable. Perhaps others wont mind this at all. But I got annoyed by this and I couldnt get into the story anymore...

More bad: there isnt really much of a story to begin with though. No real drama. It's more of a slowburning portrait of a girl coming of age in experiencing her first love romances.

It's too touchy feely sentimental for my taste. And (again) the leading actress OVER acts, which is such a pity, because this movie had much going for it potentially....

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.