Yes, God, Yes is Amusing, Sweet

Yes, God, Yes

Directed by Karen Maine
Written by Karen Maine

The review:

One of the hardest things about being a teenage girl is all that sex stuff* and Karen Maine captures one girl’s experience exploring self-pleasure while also balancing what’s being taught at her Catholic school, plus dealing with rumors that have to do with her performing a sex act identified by slang she isn’t familiar with.** While she navigates her own path by mostly trying to stay on her church’s version of the straight and narrow, the rumors spread to the adults in her community and her standing falls. Natalia Dryer is a pro at capturing Alice’s befuddled confusion and growing skepticism in this amusing film.

The verdict: Good

Cost: $6.99 via Redbox On Demand
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

• Slums of Beverly Hills (I remember a specific scene with Natasha Lyonne and Marisa Tomei, the rest has faded from memory)
• Diary of a Teenage Girl
• Pariah
• The Spectacular Now
• The To-Do List
• Saved

Further sentences:

*The Madonna/whore thing is a tough needle to thread, plus add in religious and family expectations, peer group expectations, gossip, cultural markers gleaned from the entertainment world, not to mention the possibility of past or current sexual abuse or assault.
**Maine makes the most of her time period: AOL when chat rooms could turn dirty without warning and search functions were minimal.

Questions:

• What’s the best way to deal with unfounded rumors?
• How do you think Alice’s friends shaped her choices?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

No good trivia, instead a quote from Jezebel.com

There’s a lot of really great coming-of-age films, but they often show painful sex. I wanted to see women exploring their own bodies more. American Pie, The Squid and the Whale—there’s a lot of films that show male masturbation. But I wanted to show the female part of it. I definitely want to find other ways to show women portraying new roles in cinema that feel very familiar to the women we are and that we know—but we’re either afraid to talk about, or men have been afraid to show on screen.

Karen Maine

Other reviews of Yes, God, Yes:

• Kate Erbland, Indiewire
• Mary Sollosi, Entertainment Weekly