Sharp Stick (2022) on Netflix
NR20221h 36mComedyDramaRomance
Sarah Jo, 26 and inexperienced, babysits in Los Angeles for Josh and his wife Heather, who is pregnant. When she asks him whether he finds her beautiful, an affair begins.
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- Netflix2.4/5
- IMDb4.9/103,166 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes48%
Trailer
Plot summary
Sarah Jo lives in Los Angeles with her single mother Marilyn, who has had many husbands, and her adopted sister Treina. She babysits for Josh, his pregnant wife Heather, and their son Zach, who has Down syndrome. Marilyn takes a bleak view of love and men, and tells her daughters that if they admire a man they should ask him whether he finds them beautiful. Sarah Jo puts that question to Josh in the family's laundry room. She lifts her dress to show a scar from the hysterectomy she had at 15, and says that she is a virgin. Josh tells her that losing her virginity to him is not something she would want, then asks to kiss her.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Sharp Stick (2022)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Before the Sundance premiere, autistic self-advocate and sex educator Amy Gravino alleged she was "ghosted" by Lena Dunham's team after being approached as a consultant; Gravino said Kristine Froseth had sought her out after a 2016 TED Talk.
- Taylour Paige was hesitant about joining the cast, asking whether her character had been written as a white person. Lena Dunham convinced her to star by telling her that she had written the part with Paige in mind.
- Sharp Stick was filmed in secret in Atwater Village and Eagle Rock with an all-female production crew. Lead actress Kristine Froseth said there was "an amazing intimacy coordinator" and that everything was choreographed, with "no surprises."
- In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lena Dunham moved from London to Silver Lake, Los Angeles, where she watched 1960s and 1970s films such as Belle de Jour and A Woman Under the Influence; those films and the impact of a hysterectomy motivated her to write, direct and star in Sharp Stick.
