Fundamentalist Christianity takes a good kickin' and lickin' in Karen Maine's comedy, YES, GOD, YES

The fundamental hypocrisy embedded in fundamentalist Christianity (yes, in all fundamentalist sects) has been on full display for... what? The past few centuries maybe? So the absolute and often appallingly stupid examples delivered up in the new sex-and-religion comedy YES, GOD, YES ought not come as a surprise to any but the youngest and/or most naive viewers.

This does not mean, however, that these examples do not remain amusing and fun -- even for some of us more aged/jaded audience members.

As written and directed by Karen Maine (shown at left), whose first full-length feature this is, the movie manages to entertain a lot, while provoking just a bit, thanks to the casting of actress Natalia Dyer (shown above and below) in the lead role of a very naive teen named Alice who, thanks to an earlier iteration of the internet (the film takes place maybe 15-20 years ago), is suddenly awakened to sex and its accompanying pleasures -- particularly that of masturbation.

As James Rado informed theater- and movie-goers a few decades back, via his lyrics for the musical Hair, "masturbation can be fun." So can so much else to do with sex (all of which can be problematic, too), yet the restrictive rules placed upon humanity by religion preclude our growth, enjoyment, autonomy and much else where sex is concerned.

Ms Maine and her movie mean to combat this, and they do via a situation which may by now be a bit tired but still engages, and by means of a well-chosen cast which, in addition to the charming, sweet and ill-used character played by Ms Dyer, includes the likes of Donna Lynne Champlin (above, right, of Crazy Ex Girlfriend), Wolfgang Novogratz (below, of The Half of It), and

Timothy Simons (Jonah on Veep), shown at far right below. Though mostly used in one-note fashion, these actors still deliver the necessary goods and keep the ball rolling along in pleasant if standard fashion. The film's best scene, because it veers just a bit from the expected, takes place toward the finale in a local lesbian bar during which our heroine finally gets some advice from an adult that she can actually use and run with.

One might also wish for less obvious coincidence: Would a priest in charge of a school really watch pornography on his office computer with his door wide open for anyone to see? Would the supposedly goody-goody girl go down on her boyfriend on school grounds where they can easily be caught? (TrustMovies could handle only one out of two; you might manage both.)

Still, the sweet, dorky and always believable Ms Dyer quickly becomes the centerpiece that holds it all together, demonstrating once again how, when fundamentalism comes up against inquiring minds and raging hormones, the battle is likely to be funny, silly and a little sad.

From Vertical Entertainment and running just 78 minutes, Yes, God, Yes opens July 24 at Virtual Cinemas and Drive-ins then hits Digital and VOD on Tuesday, July 28.

MY AWKWARD SEXUAL ADVENTURE proves one of the best rom-coms -- with some terrific sex!

Is it possible that maybe the best rom-com of last year (certainly one of the best) has gone straight to streaming? Looks that way to me, and thanks to Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, you can revel in the charm, novelty and healthy, upfront sexuality of MY AWKWARD SEXUAL ADVENTURE to your heart's content and then recommend it to friends and family. As directed by Sean Garrity (shown below) and written by its star, Jonas Chernick, this movie is funny, surprising, sweet, moving -- and very sexual.

Even the plot and the manner in which our hero and heroine meet and bond make a lot of sense (something that often eludes many would-be rom-coms). From the opening moments (yes, it's a sex scene) in which what happens is some kind of first, I believe, the tone and situation are so odd but believable that the movie should have you quickly hooked. From there, things spin off and along in a kind of appropriately bizarre style that stems from character rather than from any typically weird situation (though many of the situations here are pretty weird), and this intelligent approach helps carry the movie through to its very satisfying finale and sweet denouement.

Mr. Chernick (above and below) is a Canadian actor (I don't think I've ever noticed him previously) who plays an accountant named Jordan Abrams, who's an attractive fellow but certainly nothing special. Early on, his best friend Dandak (Vik Sahay, shown at bottom, left) asks a young woman passing by to rate Jordan on a scale of one to ten. "Seven," says she, but you'll probably be thinking, Nah, he's a six, at best.

Due to what seems like a permanent falling-out with his significant other, Rachel (Sarah Manninen) -- who is shown three photos down, having an awfully good and intimate time with some folk who do not include her Jordan -- our accountant heads for a bigger city with a plan to make Rachel jealous, while boning up on his below-par sexual skills.

To that end the movie introduces us to its ace in the hole,a stripper named Julia, played by perhaps our favorite Canadian-actress-who's-little-known-down-here, Emily Hampshire, above and below. Ever since Ms Hampshire knocked us dead with her brief but unforgettable role in Snow Cake, we've been expecting her to hit one out of the park. She came close in Good Neighbors a couple of years back; she does so again, here.

No hooker with a heart of gold, Julia is still a decent human being, despite her money problems abetted by a distinct lack of organization skills, and when she and Jordan begin to bond, the connection is as amusing as it is real and quite believable. This pair makes the best pairing we've seen in movies in quite some time.

What's even more special about the film, however, is how it treats its subsidiary characters. Mr. Chernick cares for all of them, and I think you will, too. His treatment of Rachel (above and on the receiving end), in particular, is worthy of note: This woman is pretty severely problemed; even so, she's never beyond care -- or repair.

The other thing that distinguishes My Awkward Sexual Adventure is its handling of sex. This is open, free-wheeling (some male full-frontal, folk), and has quite a penchant for cunnilingus (shown above and further above) -- something I've long enjoyed giving, and have been amazed, even aroused, by the enormous pleasure this can bring to women. The movie treats all this sexuality with credibility, humor and charm, which adds immeasurably to the overall effect of this very winning work.

It's hard to believe that something this unusual and enjoyable (from Tribeca Film and runing 98 minutes) never made it into theaters across the USA. But you can view it now via Netflix streaming and Amazon Instant Video. You can also find it via DVD. (The lovely young woman in the photo above is Melissa Elias.)

DVDebut: WOMEN IN TROUBLE -- an encore recommendation

Having seen this movie twice now, loving it even more the second time around, I'm tub-
thumping for it once again. Forget The New York Times' review -- which may have predisposed you against WOMEN IN TROUBLE -- for it is one of the year's funniest and sweet-
est comedies (for nasty comedy, see The Hangover), so full of love for women of all kinds (though these are mostly of the non-standard-family variety) that it bubbles over with effervescent charm.

My original review appeared here last fall, so I'll try not to repeat myself. Watching the film again, made me even more appreciative of Josh Brolin's wonderful turn as a British rock star and Cameron Richardson's dear rendition of a Canadian masseuse, who is told by her patient (the great Adrianne Palicki, shown right at bottom, doing a modern-day Judy Holiday/Gracie Allen combo) that, although she's never been to Canada, she loves -- no: I cannot spoil this delightfully screwy line.

There is so very much to admire and laugh at/with in Sebastian Gutierrez's lovely film (the writer/director is shown at left) that you owe yourself the chance to see this one. I am wondering if it does not possess an especially gay sensibility -- the kind of cultural slant that sees women as objects of great beauty and charm, even when they are at their silliest or most vulnerable. I don't know how else to account for the unusual sweetness at the core of the movie. Even though it deals with porn stars, call girls, clueless therapists and control freaks -- and deals with them in a manner that is definitely not gritty/realistic -- you end up adoring all these women who exist in some alternate universe of sexual shenanigans and often same-sex love, even though the film provides almost nothing in the way of sexual excitement or stimulation. Instead, all of this is all used in the service of comedy. My companion notes that, while a sexual motor seems to be guiding everything, the result is charm and amusement rather than arousal.

Whatever: The movie works quite wonderfully for all of its 90-odd minutes. And don't miss the end of the end credits -- in which an "interview" takes place between two of the stars and what looks like a public-access station host (played by an well-known actor who get star credit but whose actual time in the film is but a five-minute interview). This is a final, delicious treat.

Women in Trouble debuts this week on DVD and is available from all the usual sources.

Photo of Mr. Gutierrez by Jeff Vespa, courtesy WireImage.com