Yes, God, Yes

Year of Release: 2020      Directed by Karen Maine.  Staring Natalia Dyer, Francesca Reale, Parker Wierling, Timothy Simons, and Donna Lynne Champlin.

When the theology of a gay bar is sounder than the theology of a Catholic youth retreat, it’s one example of the deficiency of the Church’s ministry in recent years. In the case of Yes, God, Yes, a new coming of age comedy from writer/director Karen Maine, such a scene forms not only a pivotal moment in teenage Alice’s (Natalia Dyer) journey but also a welcome reprieve from the holier-than-thou competition from her fellow high schoolers.

After a sexist rumor starts circulating about Alice, she’s essentially knocked out of any holiness competition before one even starts. Making matters worse, she has no idea what the term her classmates are tossing around about her means. Worse still, the two school authority figures, Mrs. Veda (Donna Lynne Champlin) and Fr. Murphy, (Timothy Simons) seemingly accept the rumors at face value.

It goes without saying that the rumors are false, but as an insecure teenagers wrestling with sexual feelings for the first time in her life, Alice doesn’t know who to turn to for advice. Once again, to make matters worse, the sex-ed class taught by Fr. Murphy at her Catholic high school has a severely overly simplistic explanation of arousal that’s insulting to both sexes, but the obviously misogynistic qualities make Alice understandably reluctant to seek advice there.

What follows are Alice’s hilariously misguided attempts to learn about the type of sex act she was falsely accused of committing and her worry that she’s irreversibly hell-bound for having hormones. Most of this happens over a weekend retreat that her best friend (Francesca Reale) convinces her to go on so they can score holiness points.

If this sounds like a cruel over-exaggeration of Catholicism and youth group mentality, it isn’t. From the sexist bullying moments before a photo is taken in which everyone smiles and says, “Jesus Christ!” to the assumption that any sexual misconduct, if true, is all Alice’s fault and not the male classmate with whom she did (not do) it, it all conveys the dangers of a purity culture that treats women as commodities whose only worth is their sexual innocence.

The critique of Catholicism is unquestionably harsh, and while the sex-ed class grossly oversimplifies Church teaching on sexuality for the purpose of critiquing purity culture, the other details are spot on. The off-key singing of “City of God” is painful and hilarious. The use of a retreat to be in close proximity to one’s crush is too accurate. And most importantly, the worrying about eternal damnation from a legalistic and overly literal understanding of mortal sin, which despairs of God’s mercy, comes across perfectly.

When I was younger, I spent quite a bit of time at Catholic youth groups, and the details of Karen Maine’s script, loosely based on some of her own experiences, make it feel so familiar. For instance, there is a moment of sharing personal stories about feeling God’s presence during a difficult time. Alice makes something up, because she can’t think of something applicable to share. As an introvert, I hated those moments not only having to talk about something potentially highly personal, but also for the way so many of the stories reduced prayer to a magic spell that when said fervently enough caused God to wave his magic wand and fix all of one’s problems. When I tried to talk about Two Days, One Night being a reminder of God’s presence through the way everything turns out and how most of the characters are doing their best, it was not well received.

I share that anecdote to explain why Yes, God, Yes resonated so deeply with me. Ultimately, this is a film about saying yes to God and saying no to the ways that religion is perverted. Does it get every detail right? No, and I would have liked to have seen Alice take a little more responsibility for some of her actions. However, it makes it perfectly understandable why she would feel unsafe doing so given the sexist authority figures. The film also provides an authentic example of teenage insecurities and struggling toward the right path. And whatever path Alice chooses, God will be walking it with her.

 

Personal recommendation: A