The Lena Dunham-directed feature Sharp Stick has landed at Utopia in the U.S.
Kristine Froseth stars in the movie, Dunham’s first in over a decade, as a sensitive and naive 26-year-old living on the fringes of Hollywood with her disillusioned mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and influencer sister (Taylour Paige). Working as a caregiver and just longing to be seen, she begins an exploratory affair with her older, married employer, played by Jon Bernthal. Dunham, Luka Sabbat and Tommy Dorfman also star.
In The Hollywood Reporter’s review of the film, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, critic Jourdain Searles writes: “Sharp Stick is an audaciously sexual film, marveling at the pursuit of feminine pleasure. For better or worse, this is Dunham at her most liberated in years, with a freewheeling tone that shakes off years of silence and scrutiny.”
FilmNation Entertainment and Good Thing Going are behind Sharp Stick, which was produced by Dunham, Michael P. Cohen, Kevin Turen and Katia Washington. Ben Browning, Glen Basner, Paige, Bernthal, Kenneth Yu and Will Greenfield executive produced.
CAA Media Finance negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.
Utopia will release the film theatrically in the U.S. later this year.
