Lezioni di vita

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.