Coming of age can be through many things, not always but usually related to sex. A teenager, or younger or someone in their early twenties, goes through a change, experience or trauma and they come out the other side with a new perspective, a different person, enlightened. But sometimes, the change at first is so small in comparison to everything else going on around the character, but in fact it’s simply a realisation but by no means insignificant. One of the most joyous things about this film is the title, literally nailing this pure feeling of ecstasy and incorporating the oppressed religious aspect of the narrative. And the title is just the tip of the delightful iceberg.
After being accused of ‘tossing a boy’s salad’ at a party, Alice is left bewildered at what that even means as well as an outsider when even her best friend doesn’t believe her. It also doesn’t help that Alice is starting to have sexual urges, even going so far as to go into online chatrooms and finding relief for her desires by masturbating to the sex scene in Titanic. Being part of a very strict Catholic school and brought up in a very Christian home including going to church every week with her Dad, Alice is conflicted by her shame and desire. She decides to attend a religious retreat to try and suppress her urges but after discovering some contradictions in the teachings forced upon her when she finds out what the retreat leaders are doing when no one is watching, Alice starts to see things beyond the rose-tinted rules she’s been told to live by.
Rarely seen in film, let alone teen comedies or dramas, the moment when a teenage girl discovers masturbation, her sexual appetite and the yearning for more exploration. Some films have got this completely on point like in ‘Turn Me on Goddammit’ but ‘Yes God Yes’ portrays this lesser seen moment in film rather well. It’s a strange thing to note that teen films are usually all about the boys wanting sex and the girls are just there as props sometimes willing to join in the fun but having this moment on screen for other teenage girls to see that they are completely normal gives me hope that this is accepted and will be normalised in future films. Including the religious element to the character and her surroundings adds a whole other level to explore.
The flawed teachings of abstinence and how it breeds ignorance and shame is explored but as this isn’t what the whole story is about, it only scratches the surface and focuses more on the hypocrisy of those teaching these rules. Religion is used as blanket reason for everyone’s actions and doesn’t overtly say that everything is wrong but merely shows that you can think differently and in the end you can believe what you want, know your own truths and most importantly, it is completely normal to be a teenager and be sexual active.
On a personal note, having been brought up Catholic (in a non-strict religious home), I am always fascinated by the stories that come from a place I knew so well. School for me was very different but there was always this judgement around sexual health and biology. I remember countless classes about birth and conception but barely a class on safe sex. I think there was one or two classes and that was it. Everything I learnt on this subject was outside of school. Not to mention, no classes whatsoever on sexual desires and health. This was all ignored, seems odd, especially for a girl’s school. But maybe the Catholic part deemed this unimportant.