Sundance: Lena Dunham Returns with ‘Sharp Stick’

By Abe Friedtanzer

Director Lena Dunham attends the Q&A at the virtual premiere of Sharp Stick, an official selection of the Premieres section at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. © 2022 Sundance Institute.

It’s been twelve years since Lena Dunham broke through with her second feature film, Tiny Furniture, and just under five years since her Emmy-winning HBO series Girls came to an end. While she’s had a few small film roles since (including Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood) and worked behind the scenes on a trio of series (Genera+ion, Industry, and Camping) she has mostly been out of the media spotlight. Her latest feature, Sharp Stick, absolutely puts her back there. It's an interesting experience, to say the least…

Sarah Jo (Kristine Froseth) lives with her free-spirited mother Marilyn (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and influencer-in-training sister Treina (Taylour Paige), receiving a very particular education that mostly frames men as malignant and disposable. A just-go-for-it talk aimed at Treina inspires Sarah Jo to confess her feelings for Josh (Jon Bernthal), the married father of the child for whom she serves as caregiver. Josh’s reciprocation of desire for her leads to a wild sexual enlightenment that leaves Sarah Jo full of questions and eager to find the answers she needs to ensure that she remains attractive in his eyes.

Where to start unpacking this film?

Sarah Jo is identified as twenty-six years old, though her behavior makes her seem much more like a teenager. The way she dresses also mystifies, as if she’s wearing a mandated modest school uniform. The best explanation for this person who knows so little about sex when her mother is unflinchingly honest about everything is that Sarah Jo just nods rather than showing any interest, so Marilyn and Treina mostly ignore her. That she decides to keep her newfound exploits secret from her family is a facet of her personality, which is so much more about watching than actively participating.

Kristine Froseth and Jon Bernthal

Those who have watched Girls will be unsurprised to find that this film features a great deal of sexual content, both visually and thematically. Gratuitous is not the most accurate word, but there is definitely a lot of sex. There is also much humor to be found in how Sarah Jo plots her sexual journey and particularly the affinity she develops for Vance Leroy (Scott Speedman), a porn star who is entirely complimentary towards his female scene partners and women in general. Vance is perhaps as unlikely to exist in real life as Sarah Jo would be, but they’re both extremely entertaining characters.

The message of Sharp Stick remains a mystery even after the film ends. Josh is a great dad who treats Sarah Jo kindly, but he’s also cheating on his pregnant wife, played by Dunham, leading to an inevitable schism that will complicate Sarah Jo’s crucial role in his son’s life. Sarah Jo’s rollercoaster of sex research is bound to get her hurt, and could leave lasting and damaging impressions that will follow her throughout her life. Whatever the outcome, Forseth is an actress whose career should absolutely be watched, and Leigh, Paige, and Speedman are perfect for their roles, with Dunham’s signature writing recognizable and (mostly) welcome. This journey, flipping between the expected and the wildly unpredictable, is involving and captivating, if occasionally off-putting, watch. B

 

Sharp Stick is playing in the Premieres section of this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Comments

[Frank Zappa]

A framed still of Ida Lupino in Road House on the wall behind Dunham. Very classy.