'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret' review: The classic novel is now a classic movie
Forget spring: It's Judy Blume season.
The beloved author of books like Forever... and Deenie is the subject of the sweet new documentary Judy Blume Forever, which just premiered on Prime after making a splash at Sundance. Now, her iconic 1970 novel Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret is arriving on the big screen with a phenomenal adaptation that continues this seasonal celebration.
For decades, Blume would not allow Hollywood to adapt the story of Margaret Simon, an 11-year-old girl who talks candidly to God about everything from bra sizes to her own questions about religion. Luckily for Blume — and audiences everywhere — writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig does Blume's novel justice and then some. In her hands, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret becomes a film that captures the significance and humor of the source material, along with its most important quality: its empathy.
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Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret is an instant coming-of-age classic.
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret may be a new release, but it already deserves a spot in the canon of modern coming-of-age films alongside movies like Lady Bird, Turning Red, and Fremon Craig's directorial debut, The Edge of Seventeen.
Like all those films, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret lovingly explores life's biggest changes. The movie starts with a massive shift, as Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) and her parents Barbara (Rachel McAdams) and Herb (Benny Safdie) move to New Jersey from New York City. There, she makes new friends like Nancy (Elle Graham), who invites Margaret to join her secret club, along with Janie (Amari Price) and Gretchen (Katherine Kupferer). The group talks periods, bras, and boys, and it's not long before Margaret yearns for her own body to start changing, and fast.
Fremon Craig directs scenes of Margaret shopping for bras or practicing applying sanitary pads with a refreshing frankness, one that reflects Margaret's anxiety as well as Blume's honesty about "taboo" topics like periods. And while there are plenty of laughs to be had from these moments, they're never at Margaret's expense. We're almost always in Margaret's point of view, living out her forays into womanhood while simultaneously reliving our own adolescence. As you watch Margaret discover what everyone learns — that puberty is a weird time — you'll want to reach through the screen and give her a sign that she'll be all right.
Margaret spends much of the movie looking for these kinds of signs from God. She has a complicated relationship with religion: Her mother is Christian and her father is Jewish, and they decided that Margaret will have no religion until she grows up and decides what she wants for herself. Throughout the film, she explores various faiths in an attempt to find what feels right, but she usually ends up coming back to simply talking to God in her room.
The phrase "Are you there God? It's me, Margaret" becomes a mantra of sorts for her as she prays, either by speaking or through voiceover. Ryder Fortson, whose comedic chops cement her as a star on the rise, delivers the titular phrase differently each time, imbuing it with concern, exasperation, and in one particular case, fury. It's an effective motif made even better by her wonderful performance. Even when Margaret does something wrong, we're with her every step of the way.
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret expands on the novel — with excellent results.
Blume's novel is firmly rooted in Margaret's experience, and for the most part, so is the movie. However, Fremon Craig also takes the opportunities offered by adaptation to explore different perspectives and further flesh out the characters of Barbara and Margaret's grandmother Sylvia (Kathy Bates).
The Simons' move to New Jersey proves challenging for both women. Sylvia misses having her family in the city, lamenting over the phone that her life expectancy is sure to drop now that they're gone. Barbara tries to adjust to no longer working by assisting the PTA at Margaret's school. However, she quickly finds that that path is not as fulfilling as she would have liked. As she does with Margaret, Fremon Craig treats Barbara's and Sylvia's struggles with equal parts humor and understanding. The generational look at the Simon family is a timely reminder that every stage of life comes with its own set of challenges, as well as its own set of victories.
Bates and especially McAdams give lovely performances that complement Ryder Fortson's. In one standout scene, Barbara tells Margaret about how her parents disapproved of her interfaith marriage, which is why they never see them. Even though that specific discussion isn't in Blume's novel, it proves absolutely essential to the film, intertwining Barbara's own familial concerns with Margaret's quest to find religious meaning.
Adaptational changes like Barbara and Margaret's religious talk appear throughout Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, but they never take away from the key themes and joys of the original text. Fremon Craig and her entire cast and crew have created a thoughtful take on Blume's work, diving into everything from complicated female friendships to first kisses to the stresses of "developing" earlier or later than anyone else. To have a coming-of-age film this good is truly nothing short of a miracle.
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret hits theaters Apr. 28.
Topics Film
Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic.
