Mike at the Movies: The World Could Use a Little More Blume

A still from the movie.

by MIKE ORLOCK

It has been more than half a century since author Judy Blume revolutionized (some might say invented) the YA (young adult) genre in contemporary fiction. The publication of books such as Blubber, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Tiger Eyes, Forever and Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. are still popular sellers – and popular targets for those who think that the characters and situations Blume writes about are inappropriate for youngsters and “tweeners” to think about, let alone read about. Her books are ones that censors love to yank from library shelves, even now in this internet age of TikTok and Instagram, when kids aren’t just reading, they’re doing.

Blume – the subject of Judy Blume Forever, a fun and feisty documentary currently playing on Amazon Prime – has finally had one of her most famous books make it to the theater screen in a faithful and first-rate adaptation: Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. (PG-13). Written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, who scored an indie hit a few years back with the excellent teen dramedy The Edge of Seventeen, Margaret is just about everything Judy Blume and fans of the book could hope for in a movie version, right down to a spot-on re-creation of 1970s New Jersey suburbia.

Oscar winner Kathy Bates and Oscar nominee Rachel McAdams are the headliners, and they both give engaging performances as a grandmother and the mother, respectively, of Margaret Simon, the 12-year-old girl at the center of this story. But this film belongs to young Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret, along with the cast of young actresses (Elle Graham, Isol Young, Katherine Mallen Kupferer and Keya Hamilton) who surround her as she seeks to negotiate that most awkward and terrifying time of her life called puberty, when her body is experiencing a hormonal hurricane of change that’s sometimes in sync – but often not – with her friends and classmates.

Margaret just wants to be normal, to neither stand above nor stick out from the crowd: to finally wear a bra (although she doesn’t really need one yet) and finally get her period so that she can be just like the other girls in school, some of whom actually do need to upgrade their underwear drawer. But none of this has happened yet to Margaret or her closest gal pals, despite a rigorous routine of bust-enhancement exercises and lots of wishful thinking. 

Director Craig films these scenes between Margaret and her friends (the “Preteen Sensations”) with attention to detail and authentic humor. None of these girls sound like stand-up comedians, cracking wise and jaded; they seem exactly like 12-year-old girls who are eager for the next step but terrified of taking it. If, like me, you’re tired of seeing kids in movies who are talking and acting like they’re a reincarnation of the Rat Pack, you owe it to yourself to spend some screen time with these kids.

When Margaret gets stressed (about school, her friends, her parents), she talks to God in off-handed prayers, asking for a tiny bit of clarity and direction. With a nonpracticing Jewish father (warmly played by actor/director Benny Safdie) and a fallen-away Christian mother shunned by her parents for marrying outside the faith, Margaret has been raised without religious instruction, and she feels awkward around her friends who talk about having to attend services and Sunday school.

Her prayers punctuate her sixth-grade school year in a strange new school following a move from New York City, as well as the changes that ultimately bring about a deeper understanding of who she is and what she wants to be. Margaret’s experiences also propel her into a yearlong class project of “sampling” various religious denominations, including a trip to Grandma Sylvia’s temple, where she’s embarrassed by all the attention she receives from the rabbi and congregants – a nightmare scenario for a girl who just wants to blend in.

It will be interesting to see what kind of audience Margaret finds in a movie marketplace dominated by superhero adventures, shoot-em-ups and special-effects extravaganzas. This is decidedly a girls’ story that will certainly appeal to women of certain ages who read Blume’s book as a rite of passage growing up, and although there are some boys lurking about the periphery of the story, including one Moose Freed (Aidan Wojtak-Hissong) – the strapping neighborhood lad whom Margaret’s father hires to mow the lawn, and who catches her eye – there isn’t much here to lure young boys into the theater and keep them glued to their seats. 

Here’s hoping God answers Margaret’s prayers by giving this modest little movie a slice of that all-important box-office take so that producers and studios don’t shy away from material like this going forward. The world could use a little more Judy Blume these days, not less. 

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. is currently showing exclusively in theaters. Because this is a Lionsgate picture, it’s a crapshoot as to which service the film will ultimately stream on – and when – but expect it sometime midsummer.

In another lifetime, Mike Orlock wrote film reviews for the Reporter/Progress newspapers in the western suburbs of Chicago. He has also taught high school English, coached basketball and authored three books of poetry. Earlier this year, Orlock finished his two-year term as Door County’s poet laureate.