ReelBob: ‘Yes, God, Yes’ ★★★½

By Bob Bloom

All I know about attending a Catholic high school is what my wife has told me of her student years.

And, as she has said, being taught by nuns in the early and mid-1960s was not very enlightening.

In its own quirky way, writer-director Karen Maine’s feature, “Yes, God, Yes,” spotlights the confusion and guilt experienced by Catholic teens — especially those in parochial schools.

The movie is set in the Midwest in the early 2000s and focuses on Alice (Natalia Dyer), battling the various emotions that conflict a high school sophomore.

Alice is a good girl and considers herself a faithful Catholic. But, like all girls her age, she is sexually curious, which increases her anxiety. And it doesn’t help that because of the rumor mill at school, she is being slut shamed.

She walks through the school corridor with her eyes cast downward, feeling as if everyone is judging or talking about her.

Alice decides to attend Kirkos, a four-day Catholic retreat, to try achieving some clarity in her life and religion.

Unfortunately, she finds the experience disappointing; it’s heavy on reaffirming the role of Jesus in an individual’s life and warning about the pitfalls and dangers of sexual urgings.

Alice also discovered that other people — fellow students, counselors and even authority figures — are as flawed as she believes she is.

The movie’s pokes are not at Catholicism as much as those who represent and teach its tenets. It also touches on the hypocrisy of the adults influencing the lives and opinions of their young charges.

Smartly, Maine does not display any bitterness or anger, but simply allows incidents to unfold to make the point that none of us are perfect.

The performance of Dyer carries the movie. She aptly displays all the insecurities and uncertainties common to all high school teens. She is sensitive to how people react to her and what they think of her, she battles to curb her curiosity about sexual matters, sometimes failing and sometimes succeeding.

She also comes to understand that everyone has the same doubts and fears as herself.

Dyer’s performance is reserved; for most of the movie she shuffles about quietly, trying to go unnoticed.

Her main temptation is a hunky young counselor to whom she is immediately attracted. The results when she shows him how she feels make for one of the movie’s funnier sequences.

“Yes, God, Yes” is 77 minutes of soft laughs and head-nodding recognition — especially for those with Catholic school educations.

It is nicely paced and enjoyable and offers some easy lessons about acceptance and self-discovery. And, to paraphrase, an adage — you don’t have to be Catholic to appreciate its message.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

YES, GOD, YES
3½ stars out of 4
(R), sexual content, nudity