Alice (Natalia Dyer) has grown up attending Catholic school, surrounded by a large number of individuals whose lives revolve around God and the Catholic church. She has been taught the Ten Commandments, to love thy neighbor and that life should revolve primarily around God, the Bible and Christianity. Furthermore, it has been hammered into Alice’s head that sex, in any form, with anyone (including yourself) is a sin nearly unforgivable by God. However, one day during an AIM chat, a stranger begins sending racy images and Alice becomes incapable of escaping her own sexuality. While she is expected to respond to every heavenly request “Yes, God, Yes” she soon falls victim to her own obsession with sex.
What relevance does God play in the grand scheme of Hollywood and why should audiences even care that he exists? Well, in order to understand the story that lives on the surface of Yes, God, Yes, he has to exist, at least in theory. Your religious preference has no bearing on whether or not you appreciate the story, but a little understanding of who and what God represents does in fact play a role. Understand that God does play a significant role in some individuals’ everyday life and that others, sometimes referred to as “Bible-thumpers,'' rely entirely on God to tell them how to go about their day-to-day life. Accepting the fact that God plays a significant role in the lives of many is imperative to the appreciation of what Yes, God, Yes’s Alice is going through.
The religious beliefs of the devout Christians present throughout Yes, God,Yes are, in many ways, a metaphor for a number of things that we deal with on a regular basis. From the time you are little your parents, guardians and other loved ones provide you with a set of parameters of which you are expected to comply with to some degree. Whether the expectations of your family (and friends) may be religious, political, moral, etc., they all work toward shaping who and what we become later in life. They can have negative effects and/or positive effects depending on the seriousness of the expectations and the severity of the topics that fall within those parameters. Ultimately, however, whether we like it or not, people tell us what to think, what to believe and how to live our lives. What is happening to Alice is exactly this; she is being told that certain behaviors will result in eternal damnation at the hands of Satan. As she attempts to navigate this harsh world and she begins to understand that not everything her parents, friends, teachers, etc. tell her is true, life becomes more difficult than ever. For the first time ever Alive understands the term “free will” and determines that it is time to make decisions based on her own thoughts and opinions and not on those of the people around her. There’s a lesson here! I once had a professor in college that would tell us every day, without fail, “don’t believe me, do your own research.” What poor Alice is experiencing now is having to think for herself for the first time, but, as scary as that is, it provides her a sense of freedom, something she’s never felt before. The lesson is that not everything you hear is true and that even your closest confidants can lead you astray if you become a sheep and allow yourself to be herded by the masses. This message alone is enough to intrigue audiences and make Yes, God, Yes worth while, but there’s so much more.
Alice is expected to look innocent and naive as she walks the narrow halls of her Catholic school. Her initial inability to see what the world has to offer is what resonates with viewers because it provides them a chance to see their younger selves in her. Dyer’s natural look is perfect for the role of Alice as she, without much acting, looks the part of wet behind the ears Christian. This is not to say, however, that Dyer doesn’t display wonderful acting, because she does. The confliction that Alice is meant to feel throughout Yes, God, Yes is quite clear thanks to Dyer’s performance.
Yes, God, Yes is a coming-of-age story like no other that, in many ways, expresses the true struggles of teenagers. Always having someone tell you what to think and how to act can be excruciatingly painful and crippling. This aspect of Alice’s life remains at the forefront of the film throughout and sends a message to viewers of all ages that following your own dreams and thinking for yourself are paths to success. Yes, God, Yes combines unsettling scenes of masturbation and incredibly important messages of independence and personal growth. This odd juxtaposition of things makes for a wonderfully funny and equally informative experience.
Written & Directed by Karen Maine. Starring Natalia Dyer, Timothy Simons, Wolfgang Novogratz, Francesca Reale, Alisha Boe, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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