Title – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2023)

Director – Kelly Fremon Craig (The Edge of Seventeen) 

Cast – Abby Ryder Fortson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Benny Safdie, Elle Graham

Plot – Moving from the big city to the suburbs, 11 year old Margaret (Ryder-Fortson) and her parents Barbara (McAdams) and Herb Simon (Safdie) navigate their new surrounds and Margaret’s transition from child into her adolescence years. 

“It gets tiring. Trying so hard all the time, doesn’t it?”

Review by Eddie on 27/11/2023

Published all the way back in 1970 and becoming a hugely influential novel, Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. took some time in making its way to the big screen but with The Edge of Seventeen director Kelly Fremon Craig on board, the wait for loyal fans has been worth it with an effort that is sure to please fans and newbies alike. 

Dealing with a collection of often taboo subject matters in a frank, honest, insightful and most important heartfelt way, Craig’s energetic and on-song adaptation may not rewrite any coming of age rulebooks but much like her work with the beloved The Edge of Seventeen (which feels in many ways indebted to Blume’s source material), Margaret is such a likable film that any narrative shortcomings or undervalued supporting characters are easily over come with the features many wins. 

Hugely important to Craig’s ability to bring this tale to life is the performances of the films core young cast, lead by Ant-Man’s Abby Ryder Fortson as the titular Margaret Simon and supported by a scene stealing Elle Graham as Margaret’s complicated new best friend Nancy Wheeler, Margaret is that rare Hollywood feature that finds a winning collection of young performers coming to life naturally in mature focused roles with each turn from the key child members of the cast walking away conquering their respective characters with able support from veterans Rachel McAdams as Margaret’s mother Barbara and Kathy Bates as Margaret’s grandmother Sylvia also working to great effect for Craig’s adaptation. 

Not looking to dumb anything down or add extra baggage to a tale that has resonated for readers across multiple generations now, Margaret keeps its focus tight around Forston’s colorful and considered protagonist and while a few side plots such as Barbara’s relationship with her religious parents, Margaret’s friendship with her kindly teacher Mr. Benedict or Isol Young’s oft-bullied Laura Danker might not come off as well as they might have intended to, when it comes to Margaret dealing with the core issues that made it the household name it is, Craig has hit the mark. 

With films of this ilk often either overlooking similar themes Margaret deals with or dealing with them in a way that feels false or manipulative, it’s refreshing to see such relatable content (yes even for us guys) told in such a humanistic manner with Craig’s film likely to have many laughing, cheering and sobbing as it strikes a chord that will resonate with many, especially those that are in a similar life situation to our likeable lead character here. 

Final Say – 

There’s no earth shattering revelations or ground-breaking delivery going on in Kelly Fremon Craig’s big screen adaptation of Judy Blume’s beloved novel but that doesn’t stop Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. from being a winning examination of ones journey from childhood into adolescence that features a collection of noteworthy performances from its A-grade stars and relative newcomers alike. 

3 1/2 secret clubs out of 5