I had been counting down the weeks until I could see Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret., the new film from writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig (Post Grad, Edge of Seventeen) and producer James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News) that adapts Judy Blume’s classic 1970 novel of the same name. When it was published, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. was revolutionary for its insightful, frank, and commiserative representation of an 11-year-old girl learning about her identity (from understanding her body and its changes to exploring various religions).Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023)
The New York Times chose it as the Outstanding Book of the Year, and it has remained, for half a century, the Bible of young women’s literature. It is special because of how much it promotes female self-love; it is a caring, unafraid, and reassuring story about growing up that doesn’t treat any aspect of girlhood, or womanhood for that matter, as taboo, but understands that society does.
I had been hoping, nay, praying that the film would live up to the book. I am relieved to report that it does.
But first, summary! Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. stars Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon, who moves with her parents from New York City to the New Jersey suburbs late in the summer of 1970. Her parents, Barbara (Rachel McAdams) and Herb (Bennie Safdie), are eager to raise their daughter in a more bucolic, homey setting than their tight Manhattan apartment. Initially, Margaret is devastated to leave her home, and her best friend—her grandma Silvia (Kathy Bates)—but in her new neighborhood, she finds a community of fellow sixth-grade girls who want to talk about boys, wonder about what it will be like to get their periods, and are eager to finally wear bras.
0 Comments