This review originally ran on January 23, 2022 during the Sundance Film Festival

It’s been eleven years since Lena Dunham’s directorial debut, Tiny Furniture, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Fans of the Girls star know that Dunham has a knack for speaking the language of “angsty (entitled?) young women” so fluently; whether or you not sympathize with their problems aside, there’s no denying that Dunham’s characters are constantly trying to evolve from helpless girl to independent woman. It’s fitting, then, that she’s back at Sundance over a decade later with Sharp Stick, a more mature coming of age story that places agency on female sexual empowerment, but still includes her signature splash of young person’s angst.

Sharp Stick takes place in Los Angeles during the pandemic, although those two points aren’t completely relevant to the story. Kristine Froseth plays Sarah Jo, an overly modest and reserved 26-year-old with the emotional intelligence of a girl half her age. Sarah Jo is a “good girl” to a fault, her naivety makes her feel out of place, even in the home that she shares with her overly blunt mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and attention-seeking sister (Taylour Paige). Sarah Jo is respected for her maturity and thrives in her role as a special needs caretaker for her young client and his family, working mother Heather (Dunham) and her immature husband Josh (Jon Bernthal) who acts like an aged-out TikToker.

Sarah Jo may be naive but she isn’t devoid of feeling, and the growing question of what she’s missing out on when it comes to sexual experiences comes to a boil almost overnight. In a bold move that, quite frankly, doesn’t come across as honest or believable in the slightest, our pure protagonist boldly throws herself at Josh and starts confessing that she wants him to take her virginity. What gave her the confidence all of a sudden to share her deepest darkest insecurities with this man? That’s not entirely clear. Perhaps it’s the lack of stable men in her life or her biological father, who’s MIA. In any case, Josh ruins any shred of trust when he agrees to have sex with her (without protection, too). Both consenting to the act, neither one could have imagined what the aftermath of this decision would bring: Sarah Jo turns into an out of control, sexually obsessed submissive who quite literally wants to do everything from A (anal) to X (xenophilia).

Kristine Froseth is fully in control of Sarah Jo’s budding physical exploration, her transformation taking place almost entirely from within. Her sexual liberation goes from 0-100 in over 24 hours, and while it might be hard to believe that she becomes infatuated with a porn star and signs up as a member on the website “Clitty Clitty Bang Bang,” Froseth does an admirable job playing vulnerable. Jon Bernthal can’t make Josh redeemable, but he’s a good character to laugh at if you don’t mind the second-hand embarrassment.

For as progressive and bold as Sharp Stick is, however, it’s ultimately a clunky and disorienting watch that lacks a strong finale and clear takeaway. Sarah Jo’s stunted maturity and arrested development make for a sympathetic character arc, but her payoff feels shortchanged. Does being sexually liberated actually make her feel more confident as a woman, or is she really just searching for acknowledgment and reassurance that she is seen, and using sex is the quickest way to get that fix?

There are some great moments sprinkled in throughout the awkward ones though, specifically the kitchen scene where Heather tries holding it together as an overworked mother, the repeating action of Sarah Jo eating big spoonfuls of vanilla yogurt (foreshadowing a more graphic act later), and the energizing soundtrack that ends on Shuga’s “Stay Wild.”  What’s also worth mentioning is the special thanks section that reads like a who’s who of celebrity friends, including Taylor Swift, Zoe Kravitz, and her husband (and Sharp Stick‘s composer) Luis Felber. It won’t be everyone’s taste, but sex-positive Sharp Stick certainly will resonate with the built-in Dunham fanbase.

Distributed by Utopia. 86 minutes.

In theaters Friday, July 29th. Expands to theaters nationwide on Friday, August 5th. Available on Digital platforms August 16th.