Sharp Stick

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.

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.

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....

When I read the synopsis on Sharp Stick, I thought this could be interesting, particularly in the hands of Lena Dunham. There are a few interesting elements here, like when the naive lead character first discovers sex and becomes initially obsessed with porn and makes it her mission to try all of the different sex positions/styles she discovers through porn herself, and tracks that journey via two large posters taped to her bedroom wall. As for the performances they're all solid and contribute something to the overall experience. Personally, the one exception might be Jennifer Jason Leigh. In general, I like her and think she's done some great work, but for me her selection struck me as JJL doing another typical JJL type of work and would have liked to see someone not so expected in this role. The film looked good but the story itself just didn't develop in a way that made me really care much about the characters, but was rather just observing them. The Dunham character and her husband in particular seemed random with no backstory or development. Despite some solid elements Sharp Stick just isn't so sharp.

This was made by the kids that were rejected from the high school drama group. I can't think of a category this doesn't stink. 2/10 for being in focus with clear audio.

The non plot meanders aimlessly as we're slowly and without a hint of subtlety directed to watch the protagonist, because she's obviously going through some stuff. We're also given back story using the heaviest tools... come on... show don't tell!

Overacting from most of the cast can only have come from direction... or maybe the whole cast was high?

I loved Girls, but this isn't even worth your time to find out. Fly a kite, write an awful review or take up building... but give this a miss. 2/10.