Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. [DVD]

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Plemmons, Mark (May 28, 2021). "Friday Five: Big stars in Concord?". Independent Tribune. Archived from the original on May 28, 2021 . Retrieved May 28, 2021. Margaret and her new friends anticipate the milestones of puberty, such as wearing a bra and having their first kisses. At classmate Norman Fischer's birthday party, Margaret enjoys her first kiss with Philip Leroy, a popular boy in her class, during a game of spin the bottle. She also attends respective church masses with Janie and Nancy. After viewing a video about menstruation at school, the girls become excited about starting their periods. Margaret grows impatient when other girls get their periods before her, including Gretchen and Nancy. When Margaret and her mom eventually find themselves in a bathroom under similar circumstances, the crying is of a different variety. It’s all terribly scary, yes, but in Blume and Fremon Craig’s hands, growing up is also heart-stoppingly beautiful. McAdams, who has two young children, says she hopes Margaret's story can be helpful not just to children and young adults, but to parents as well. Kelly Fremon Craig's screenplay masterfully strikes a balance between humor and depth, utilizing incisive satire to expose the absurdity of religious bias and stereotypes on top of all the awkwardness of pueburty. Within this comedic framework, the film conveys poignant messages about tolerance, empathy, and the importance of embracing one's individuality, all while providing genuine moments of self-discovery and personal growth.

A beloved and best-selling classic comes to the big screen with Lionsgate’s adaptation of Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Starring Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret, this timeless, coming-of-age story has transcended decades and spoken to generations. At 11, Margaret is moving to a new town and beginning to contemplate everything about life, friendship, and adolescence. She relies on her mother (McAdams), who offers loving support but is herself finding her own footing in a new place, and her grandmother Sylvia (Bates), who is coming to terms with finding happiness in the next phase of her life. For all three, questions of identity, one’s place in the world, and what brings meaning to a life will draw them closer together than ever before. One night while out with Nancy and her family in New York City, Margaret learns Nancy lied about getting her period earlier when she actually does get her period. At school, Margaret is assigned a group project with Laura Danker, a classmate who is ostracized by her peers (including Nancy) for being taller and more developed. While working together in the library, Margaret brings up rumors about Laura letting boys "feel her up", upsetting her and causing her to storm out. Margaret feels guilty for shaming her, while questioning her friendship with Nancy.Nicholson, Amy (April 20, 2023). " Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret Review: An Appealing But Edgeless Adaptation of a Coming-of-Age Classic". Variety. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023 . Retrieved April 20, 2023. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig’s entry to the woefully underserved category of period dramas (make of that what you will), is destined to become a classic. Based on – but not entirely wedded to – Judy Blume’s seminal 1970 novel of the same name, the film is an entertaining comedy that also happens to be a stunning evocation of the fear and yearning that come with standing on the precipice of adulthood.

D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 15, 2022). " 'Dirty Dancing' Sequel Sets 2024 Release; 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret' Heads To Pre-Summer 2023". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022 . Retrieved June 15, 2022.

What people are saying about Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

That's only one factor, though. The books, while rooted in the time they were written, have a timeless quality because the things teenagers worry about are largely the same and few writers understand that the way Blume does. For the podcast, Michael and Worthington have read a lot of what they call "Judy-adjacent" books, but nothing quite matches up. "Judy has this special connection to the inner thoughts of children and teens," says Michael. "She remembers what it feels like, in a way that I just don't think a lot of writers can do."

But in New Jersey, she soon finds a new friend in chirpy neighbour Nancy (Elle Graham) and is initiated into her secret girl gang. Being the Seventies, the pals are untroubled by helicopter parenting or concerns about screen time. Instead, they can indulge in such timeworn pursuits as fancying the dishy guy in school and laughing at/ envying the lanky girl who underwent puberty early. Production wraps, with confirmation that Benny Safdie also joined the cast as Margaret’s father. ( Source: Deadline) Fortson says it is natural to be curious. "I think Margaret figures that out as well, and I think she has all these people in her life telling her, you have to be this, you have to use this label. But I think it's really her journey that she finds out she can just believe in what she believes in, and she doesn't really need to listen to the other people telling her what to do." In February 2021, it was announced that Abby Ryder Fortson would star as the titular Margaret, with Rachel McAdams cast as her mother. [8] Kathy Bates was added to the cast in March. [9] In April, Benny Safdie joined the cast. [10] Judy Blume’s proto-YA classic from 1970 gets a screen adaptation; it is a sweet-natured, undemanding, oddly inconsequential movie about a lonely, smart 12-year-old anxious about the onset of puberty and adulthood. Blume herself gets a producer credit and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo. The movie is played as a 1970 historical piece rather than being updated to the modern world, which would of course require LGBTQ+ plot additions, though I suspect a completely original drama of this sort set in 1970 would not tacitly consent, as this does, to the invisibility of gay people.

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I wish people didn't have to choose between families and themselves, who they innately are," says McAdams. "I wish those things just had nothing to do with each other. Open-mindedness and tolerance is, to me, always the way. If someone's not hurting someone else, then I think anything goes. Prompted by her school assignment, Margaret asks her mother why she has never met her maternal grandparents. Barbara reveals that she is estranged from her devoutly Christian parents Paul and Mary, who disowned her upon her marriage to a Jewish man. On a weekend visit to New York City, Margaret asks Sylvia to take her to temple, which Sylvia gladly does. Meanwhile, Barbara attempts to fit in with the PTA and signs up for multiple committees, which draws her away from her hobby of painting and teaching art. Review: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret". Time. April 28, 2023. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023 . Retrieved May 8, 2023. The film also shares an honest quality with Blume's book. It's still rare, for example, to see a character putting on a sanitary pad on screen. They're usually a source of horror comedy, if seen at all. "That scene was electric to film," says Craig, "It felt like we were throwing off shame and embarrassment." The film opens with Margaret returning home from summer camp in New Hampshire only to learn that her family is moving from their New York City apartment to a New Jersey suburb. In the book, Margaret suspects that a large motivation for her parents’ decision to move is to separate from Sylvia, her overbearing yet fun Jewish grandmother. “She doesn’t have a car, hates buses, and she thinks trains are dirty,” Margaret tells us in the book. “So unless Grandma plans to walk, which is unlikely, I won’t be seeing much of her.”

Blume's coming-of-age stories were some of the most popular reads for teenagers, mainly young girls, who passed through on their way to adulthood. Sex, masturbation, periods, sexuality, body image, puberty, disability, friendship, religion, even death; we tittered at some parts, cried at others, and we lapped up Blume's books because they explored these issues in a way that was real and relatable. At the beginning of the school year, Margaret's teacher, Mr. Benedict, gives the class a year-long research assignment. When he learns Margaret dislikes religious holidays, she explains that since her mother is a Christian and her father is Jewish, her family does not observe the holidays and has left it up to Margaret to decide on her own religious identity as she grows older.For spring break, Margaret wants to visit Sylvia while she is vacationing in Florida, but these plans are interrupted when Paul and Mary reach out to Barbara and say they want to visit and meet Margaret. Upon learning of the cancellation, Sylvia decides to show up at the Simon house with a friend from Florida on the same day of Paul and Mary's visit. Lewis, Hilary (October 24, 2023). " 'Past Lives,' 'A Thousand and One' and 'All of Us Strangers' Top Gotham Awards Film Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved November 14, 2023. After rejecting several offers to adapt her book in the 49 years since its publication, author Judy Blume sold the film rights to James L. Brooks and Kelly Fremon Craig, who worked together on The Edge of Seventeen (2016), with Craig set to write and direct. A studio bidding war over the distribution rights was won by Lionsgate. [6] [7] I feel a tremendous responsibility," Craig says. "A responsibility to Judy, but also to Judy's fans, and to the people that haven't read her books, for whom this will be an introduction to her."