Short and sweet might not be the best way to describe the ideal sexual encounter, but it is the perfect way to describe “Yes, God, Yes,” a film from Karen Maine (“Obvious Child”), based on her short film.
The premise is simple; a young Catholic high school girl is beginning to have sexual thoughts and believes that sending herself to a weekend retreat might help. She goes, it does not help, and hilarity ensues.
Although, as amusing as the film can be, hilarity definitely isn’t the word to describe this film. Its more of a sly, downplayed style of awkward humor, somewhere close to something like “The Office” without the documentary stylings. Often time the humor comes from the sheer awkwardness of the situations and the irony of many of the statements made.
That’s not to say there isn’t any great comedic acting here. Natalia Dyer (“Stranger Things,” “Velvet Buzzsaw”) is the film’s star and biggest asset. Her innocent nature and desire to learn more about herself are juxtaposed against the people and religious environment around her and Dyer milks these differences to the best results.
For those familiar with the term “mumblecore,” this is as close to a teen sex comedy as a mumblecore film has ever gotten. There isn’t really a plot; things do happen in a particular order, but it feels more just like life than any sort of movie narrative. Most of the dialogue also seems somewhat improvised, lending everything an awkward realism that makes the proceedings even better.
It’s difficult to tell if the film or Maine have anything really to say. Things don’t really kick into gear until the last third of the film, which features the most musing on the themes and elements therein (sex, abstinence, religion, queerness). It also helps that the last third also features at least double the dialogue than in the previous two-thirds of the film.
At a somewhat short 78 minutes, “Yes, God, Yes” is a simple film with simple goals that are achieved with relative success. It’s awkward and “indie film” nature will likely only appeal to a certain audience, but those who give it a try will likely find a pleasant little film with a point to make, some amusement to be had, and not much else. 3.5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment