Yes, God, Yes

Karen Maine's Yes, God, Yes won me over for its slice of 2000s nostalgia and the way it portrayed some very relatable things in the lives of teenagers of those times. The story is a little too simplistic, and it doesn't try to bite off more than it can chew. In that sense, the film's climax probably won't seem too revolutionary when viewed in 2020 where 'sinning' is more of an innuendo than something religious.

There are some predictable turns, there are some funny moments, there's a little sexual exploration (something the film could have dwelled more on, given its theme), and there's a neat central performance from Natalia Dyer. For a 25-year-old playing a high-school teenager, I really enjoyed her adorable facial expressions for the most part. The film's only 77 minutes long, so it doesn't take up much of your time in telling a straightforward, unsurprising story.

The writer/director Karen Maine went to a Catholic school in Iowa and made this movie based on her own experiences there in the 11th grade. I didn't attend a Catholic school but grew up being taught Catechism by Priests and Nuns so I can identify with a lot of it.

The movie points out a truth about religious education in general, the use of fear to try to motivate teenagers to stay on the straight and narrow. Watch porn and you'll go to hell. Masturbate and you'll go to hell. Lose your virginity and you'll go to hell. The problem with that approach is eventually kids get to a point where they realize what is going on and all that goes for naught.

Yet somehow most of us grow up to be good, moral people. And that is sort of the punchline of this story.

I watched it at home on DVD from my public library, my wife skipped.

A great coming of age story. Natalia is a perfect fit for the role.

If you watched The Miseducation of Cameron Post, this film is almost identical, only much more about hypocrisy and no lesbianism. The Kirkos christian retreat depicted in the film actually exists, only it's called Kairos, and the story in the movie seems to be rooted at least partially in an actual experience. I was really expecting this to have been a book adaptation, just like Cameron Post, but it wasn't.

Now the film is pretty good. I don't think they could have found a better lead than Natalia Dyer, of Stranger Things fame, as she seems to be the kind of girl that got forward in life by furrowing her brows and looking innocent. I mean, there is a scene when she claims to be 21 to get a drink in a bar and no one believes her, which I found hilarious as she's 24 in the film. Basically the whole premise of the movie is that most people are hypocritical, expecting from others what they themselves don't do. It's a whole film of people being phony, spreading lies, using terms they don't understand and then the actual "climax" is not the last scene, which was kind of pointless really, it was the bar scene, where the bar owner and the Christian schoolgirl exchange ridiculous Catholic reasons why they thought they're going to hell.

Bottom line: a film that is direct in depiction, but subtle in character emotions and development. Perfect casting choice for the lead and most acting was very good. Overall, a better than average film. I liked it better than The Miseducation of Cameron Post, to which it resembles way too much.

Being homeschooled and a christian growing up in a very humble lifestyle and household, I appreciate the message they were trying to get across in this movie. You grow up with so many restrictions and when you're out of that fearful environment it truly is a wake up call. Knowing that people have been doing what you have been forbidden to do for years and they are alright. I like seeing movies like this where I can relate somewhat to the plot. It wasn't really amazing or the best movie I've seen but it was a good message I think. I have absolutely no idea why it was rated R since it was pretty tame for what else comes out these days but maybe I'm wrong? Anyway I loved Natalia Dryer, even though she's well in her twenties, she can still pull off a teenager pretty well.