Sundance 2022

Naive 26-year-old Sarah Jo (Kristine Froseth) has a sexual awakening when she decides to sleep with Zach (Jon Bernthal), the married father of a boy for whom she care-takes. But when Zach's wife Heather (Lena Dunham) finds out, and the extra-marital relationship ends, Sarah Jo believes it was because she wasn't good enough in bed (or something?). Sarah Jo goes on a sexploration, digging deep into porn and meeting up with randos to try out the various things she's watched. Having watched “Red Rocket,” “Pleasure,” and now “Sharp Stick” all within the last month, I think I've had my fill of porn-adjacent films for a while. I liked Froseth and Bernthal's performances, and the finale has a positive message (delivered pretty much direct to the camera by Scott Speedman). All of the pieces don't quite coalesce, though. Sarah Jo's mom (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and sister Treina (Taylour Paige) feel entirely extraneous to the story. Plus, Sarah Jo's complete naïveté about sex, drugs, and alcohol never feels truly plausible, given how open her mother seems about discussing all of the above with her daughters. It's a pretty wild movie, though, and not what I expected. I would still mildly recommend it, despite my few reservations. 

— 2.5 / 5 ⭐