Teenage Sexual Curiosity on Full Throttle with Yes, God Yes

As teenagers, we all have been guilty of sexual curiosity. I remember sneaking copies of adult mags and The Joy of Sex book  into the bathroom wondering what was was to be discovered  beyond the articles.  What about that first time you realized anything with vibration would be a certain sensation…lol. Ah, the growing pains of youth…lol.  Imagine, having all those question and yet your religion said you would go to hell for pleasuring yourself, fantasying about sex or having lustful feelings toward another.   This is Alice’s (Natalia Dyer) dilemma.  she becomes so curious that she ultimately pops into an AOL chat room where she sees explicit photos, conversation and becomes the object of a chat participant’s means of masturbation.  Sounds perverted and naughty right?  It kinda is, but writer/director Karen Maine brings her semi-autobiographical world to the screen accomplishing with Yes, God Yes what Olivia Wilde does with Booksmart.  She taps into the teenage mind of sexuality at it purest form.

Winner of the 2019 SXSW Grand Jury Narrative Feature Award for Ensemble Acting and taking place in the early 2000’s Midwest, Alice is guilt-ridden over discovering masturbation and attends a mysterious ‘Jesus Camp’ that encourages her to suppress her urges.  Urges that are further complicated after she becomes infatuated with a cute counselor –  Chris (Wolfgang Novogratz) and discovering that the retreat Priest and even the most devout of attendees all are secretly getting their swerve on.

Unlike Booksmart, it takes a minute for this film to get to the point, but once it does you in for the the long haul.  Said Tossing, masturbating to mop handles, cell phones and even taking a walk on the wild side to a gay bar all become part of Alice’s journey to self-discovery.  Natalia Dyer’s performance holds this film down in every sense of the word.  She pops on screen like a bright shiny toy from the moment she appears to the final act where she give her testimony amongst her peers.  Looking forward to some great performances from her down the road.

Produced by Vertical Entertainment, Yes God Yes will be available July 24, 2020 (Virtual Cinemas and Drive-ins) and again July 28, 2020 (Digital and VOD).