‘Sharp Stick’ Trailer: Jon Bernthal and Kristine Froseth Have an Affair in Controversial Lena Dunham Film
variety.comSasha Urban editorUtopia on Thursday released the trailer for “Sharp Stick,” Lena Dunham’s dramedy that debuted to controversy at Sundance earlier this year.The film, in theaters nationwide on Aug.
5 following a limited release on July 29, follows 26-year-old Sarah Jo (Kristine Froseth), a socially and sexually stunted caregiver living on the outskirts of Hollywood with her mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and sister Treina (Taylour Paige).
She longs for connection after a hysterectomy in her teenage years kept her from finding romance, and begins an affair with Josh (Jon Bernthal), the parent of the special-needs child she looks after, who is married to Heath, Lena Dunham’s character.The film explores Sarah Jo’s sexual coming-of-age, a central conceit that has drawn controversy in its portrayal.
Amy Gravino, an autism sexuality advocate who said Froseth asked her to be a consultant on the film before she was “ghosted,” said Sarah Jo’s characterization falls into the category of “infantilization of people on the spectrum,” although the producers of “Sharp Stick” maintain that the character was not meant to be neurodivergent. “Kristine had said that she believed the character was neurodivergent.
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