‘Good Sex’: Natalie Portman Nabs Lead In Lena Dunham-Directed Rom-Com ‘Good Sex’

Natalie Portman (“Black Swan”) isn’t exactly best known for her comedic chops, but Portman has had her moments with a foul-mouthed rap on “Saturday Night Live” and is certainly known for a solid sense of humor in the “Thor” movies. So, when the news hit today from Deadline that Portman would be leading “Good Sex,” an original romantic comedy from Lena Dunham, it wasn’t as surprising as you’d imagine; while some might be scratching their heads a bit on the pairing.

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Taking a page from her previous Netflix movie “May December” and recent Nicole Kidman erotic thriller “Babygirl,” the comedic film is another attempt at an age-gap romance with an older woman. Portman plays a successful couples’ therapist who falls for a 20-something Brooklyn hipster because we’re talking about Dunham. While dating a younger man, her character Ally juggles another more conventional relationship with a suitor named Alan in their ’50s.

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The buzzy project is heading to the European Film Market next week. It is being handled by CAA Media Finance for domestic rights, while Film Nation Entertainment is tackling international deals.

An official logline for “Good Sex” provided by Deadline reads:

“After spending a decade in a failed relationship, successful couples’ therapist Ally (Portman) is turning 40 and is pushed, kicking and screaming, by her best friend back into the hopeless New York dating scene. But Ally finds her life pulled in opposing directions as she falls into a steamy fling with a 20-something Brooklyn hipster just as she begins a promising, more conventional relationship with Alan, a successful 50-something in Manhattan. As a romantic crossroads blossoms into a full-blown identity crisis, Ally juggles to keep these two very different men separate and to make sense of her own conflicting desires before she risks losing them both.”

Dunham, likely more known for acting to most, directed an impressive 19 episodes of her hit HBO series “Girls” before feature efforts with “Sharp Stick,” and the period comedy “Catharine Called Birdy,” the former starring Bella Ramsey (“The Last of Us”).

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Who exactly they’ll attempt to hire to play Ally’s romantic partners in “Good Sex” remains to be seen, but given Portman’s high-profile attachment, we could assume some known actors are getting in the mix.