Yes, God, Yes

This movie is so spot-on about what it's like going to a Catholic School. I don't know if I would have enjoyed it as much as I did if I hadn't been raised Catholic and gone to a Catholic high School. The humor is subtle, but it's good. Go into this movie open-minded and I think you'll really enjoy it.

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.

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.

An honest, funny & thoroughly relatable account of a young girl's sexual awakening, Yes, God, Yes is short, simple & straightforward in its approach, and is brilliantly led by Natalia Dyer's sweet & amusing performance. There is a sincerity in this coming-of-age portrayal and a proper understanding of that awkward teenage phase which makes this film both fun & evocative.

Written & directed by Karen Maine in her directorial debut, the story is adapted from her short film of the same name but the larger canvas & longer runtime offer her an incentive to spread out the plot, create new situations & explore some more themes. However, Maine decides to not venture out further which in turn makes this film look like an overly long version of the more compact & effective short.

Much of the hilarity comes from our very own relatability to the protagonist's journey after she discovers masturbation, experiences sexual urges & lustful desires for the first time and the feeling of guilt, confusion & awkwardness that comes with it and is further exacerbated by her Catholic teachings. And the authenticity with which Dyer articulates her character's temptations & inner turmoil is by all means praiseworthy.

Overall, Yes, God, Yes commences Karen Maine's directorial career on a promising note and is a fascinating depiction of a young girl trying to figure herself out through her curiosities & observations while also serving as a delightfully nostalgic trip down memory lane. Those who have already seen the short may not find anything new or refreshing about it but for the rest, this brief, breezy & brill piece of work is definitely worth a shot.

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