YES, GOD, YES

Directed by: Karen Maine

Starring:  Natalia Dyer, Francesca Reale, Alisha Boe

Alice is a young catholic teenager on the verge of sexual discovery. However, her bodily urges are in direct contrast to the religiously oppressive society she is being brought up and educated in. When a vicious rumour starts spreading at school about her and a boy at a party, Alice sees no choice but to attend a special religious retreat in the hope of some spiritual guidance…

Yes, God, Yes is the sort of comedy which makes you squirm as much as it makes you laugh, while taking a dig at the overbearing nature and hypocrisy of Catholicism.

The film is set in the early 2000's when the internet was still a novelty for most people (and Yahoo! was still a big deal), so Allice's innocence is very plausible when someone accuses her of a partaking in a particular sex act. Alice doesn't understand the term "tossing the salad" and spends a lot of time throughout the film trying to get to the bottom of what it means. However her innocence isn't shared by either her classmates or her teachers who are quick to accept that the rumour must be true.

At the same time, Alice is developing sexually. Her body is responding to stimuli she can't fully understand (the incredibly hairy forearms of Chris, the Highschool quarterback and one of the retreat team leaders). She is curious about her body's responses and feels the need to masturbate, but at the same time she is being taught at school that masturbation and sex outside of marriage is a sin against God. In fact the kids are being taught that sex is purely for procreation.

When Alice gets caught withholding her mobile phone (no phones or watches are allowed - they're on Jesus's time!), she's punished with cleaning the lunch room every day. However this chore enables her to learn a few secrets about both her fellow students and head councellor, Father Murphy. It also leads her to cause some trouble when she uses the office computer to join a chatroom and try to get to the bottom of what "tossing the salad" is and forgets to log out.

With the rumour of her “party exploits” hanging over her, there is a lot of pressure on Alice. The boys keep making lewd jokes, while the girls and teachers silently/not so silently judge her. There are numerous times when she has to attend confession and there is this obvious expectation for her to confess but a) as it never happened and b) as she has no idea what it means anyway, she cannot do so., leading others to think she is hiding the truth, because either she is ashamed to admit it or not ashamed enough.

Considering that Natlia Dyer is 25 years old, she does an amazing job of playing Alice, who must be about 10 years younger. She captures the awkward, pubescent teen phase really well. The script allows Alice to have faults of her own and make mistakes along the way, but also allows her moments of growth and self-awareness.

THE VERDICT

Yes, God, Yes is a lighthearted look at a young girl's journey into womanhood - not just through the changes in her body, but also her mind as she starts to question the devoutness and spirituality of the things she is being taught.  It's very well performed, the comedy is light enough with a few double entendres thrown in for extra bawdiness. My only issue with the film is that I don't think I can listen to Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes ever again…

7 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)