When Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) returns from summer camp, she receives some of the most seismic news an eleven-year-old can get: the family is moving.  Her father, Herb (Benny Safdie), received a promotion so the family is relocating from their NYC apartment to the suburbs of New Jersey.  While her mother, Barbara (Rachel McAdams), will no longer need to work so she can be more active with Margaret, the young girl is apprehensive about meeting new friends at a new school and being separated from her loving, socialite grandmother, Sylvia (Kathy Bates).  In New Jersey, though, Margaret quickly meets Nancy (Elle Graham), another girl in the neighborhood, and together they navigate the trials and tribulations of growing up; the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all. 

Kelly Fremon Craig brings Judy Blume’s iconic coming-of-age novel, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. to cinemas, courtesy of Lionsgate as part of their robust 2023 theatrical slate.  With film rights to the book long held close to the chest, it seemed that the adaptation may never have been made, but now – and as timely as it was back in 1970 when it was originally published – the story can reach wide swaths of audiences with cross-generational appeal making it one of the first true “take the family to the movies” titles in quite some time.  While the box office is not boding well for the film, and with only its opening weekend which was heralded by a limited marketing campaign to really perform before Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3 came in and cannibalized multiple screens across some 4,450 cinemas, it will hopefully find good life when it comes to streaming as it is an important and relevant story that deserves to be seen. 

Since the novel’s initial publication, it has been often challenged for its frank portrayal of a girl in the throes of puberty and all which that involves.  Looking at more recent media examples, Domee Shi’s portrayal of similar themes in Turning Red (2022) received similar backlash and in the wake of court decisions that limit, or downright outlaw, access to sex education and medicine, these films that can open the conversation about the facts of life.  As “parent’s rights extremists” across the country desperately try to turn back the hands of time in a frenzy to make children feel shameful and ignorant of their own bodies and emotions – often citing religious reasons – it places Are you There God? in a starling position.  Craig wisely does not update the time period of the book, keeping it set in the original 1970s, as with today’s access to the internet many of the questions which Margaret poses would be solved with a simple Google search.  The combination of guesswork, intuition, and rumor as to how to navigate the changing social landscapes at school and their changing bodies offers many opportunities for wholesome humor while still addressing that it is okay to have questions, to feel scared or anxious or excited, and to lean on friends and family for support when things get overwhelming. 

The second major theme of the book and the film is the role of religion in Maraget’s life.  She is growing up in a dual-faith household where her parents – a Jewish father and a Christian mother – have not forced her to decide which faith, if any, she was to practice.  Throughout the film, Margaret visits various places of worship and discovers aspects of each that she enjoys and parts that she does not take as receptively, but what the film does so well is that, like her parents, it never forces her to make that decision.  Smartly, the script is staying rather levelheaded about it all and proves that different faiths can coexist when the golden rule of “love thy neighbor” is followed.  Margaret also asks God the titular question early on and checks in throughout the film when she feels nervous, excited, or frustrated about various things as if he was a penpal, which really helps audiences identify with the highs and lows the titular character is navigating.  It also helps give the slice-of-life coming-of-age story about a suburban girl some framework without falling back on a more straightforward voiceover approach. 

Fortson may not be a household name – yet – but she is no stranger to the camera with quite a range on her resume already, though Margaret cinches her with her first leading role.  As the center of the film, she does not waver when sharing scenes with Bates or McAdams.  It is clear that Craig created a safe and comfortable environment for all of the cast members, but especially the younger ones who carry the narrative, to freely create and lean into the various emotions which their characters experienced, and even in the scenes where they are dealing with emotions such as embarrassment or shame, the film is there to help build them back up again.  This is especially clear in how Nancy’s arc develops over time into something akin to an antagonist, but not in the usual sense for middle school dramas.  It does not treat her as just a bratty, bad-for-you kind of girl but shows her as someone who is wearing that – again, for lack of a better word – cattiness as an armor against her own insecurities.  The film really breaks her down, culminating in a pivotal scene while the girls visit NYC together, and it really helps audiences see the importance of this story and how it can be an effective tool for young girls no matter their social circle to feel comfortable and confident during a confusing phase of their lives.  There are certain inevitable things about growing up that we all face – some physically, some emotionally – and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. is there to tell the younger audience that “it is okay” and remind the older audience what it is like to face the unknown.     

Back to Fortson, she is able to oscillate between the scenes with confidence no matter what the script asks of her, and she does so while also hitting all of the comedic beats with stunning accuracy.  She garners a great deal of empathy from the audience, not just because the film revolves around her, but because Fortson makes Margaret a fully realized character with joys and ambition so that we want to see her get up and dust herself off when she gets knocked down and are there to cheer along with her during her successes. 

While thematically it made sense to keep the film set in the past, the visual cues – except for Jan (Kate MacCluggage), Nancy’s mom and the head of the PTA, with her iconic haircut and style – are largely nonexistent.  In a way, this is almost a testament to Selina van den Brink’s set decoration that she is able to create something that feels specifically not the present, while not making the settings something alien to us or look like they are just crashing the sets of That 70s Show.  She shakes the temptation of highlighting the dated trends that would be pointed and laughed at by today’s youth, distracting them, but instead creates what feels like lived-in homes for Margaret and her friends to occupy.  Her work is also used to great effect in setting up the dichotomy of the bustling city and the Norman Rockwell feel of the suburbs.  Its strength is in its subtlety. 

If there is a stumbling block the film does not quite clear, it is in its expansion of the adult characters.  Faced with a double-edged sword, the film would not have as strong of a cross-generational impact without this increased focus on the adults, but they also did not want to bog down the film for the target audience by focusing too heavily on the adult issues.  What results is the flickering of a subplot that has a lot of promise but feels underdeveloped.  This is most apparent with McAdams’s Barbara who, now without the need to work, finds herself in a bit of a creative slump.  She no longer wants to paint, is burned out by overcommitting to the PTA, and is exhausted and overwhelmed when it comes to picking out new furniture for the house.  It is flirting with what feels like a depression narrative and even just five to ten more minutes helping to delve into her character would have made it so much more impactful of an arc and the 106-minute film would still clock in under two hours.  What is so nice about what we do see here in the film is how it handles Barbara and Herb’s relationship and just how perfectly they work together. Even when things get rough, the script never even attempts at the “hate my life, hate my wife” brand of humor that so many comedies, sitcoms especially, tend to peddle out to audiences. 

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. is a shockingly accessible film to all four quadrants.  It is such a sweet and wholesome film that seeks to empower its audiences no matter who they are or what stage of life they are in.  With strong performances across the board and a dedicated crafts team led by an impassioned director, the film stands to be a right of passage for future generations in the same way that Blume’s novel has been.  For those unfamiliar with the source material, the title sounds far more religious than it actually is, but changing the title would have covered the film even more from the public eye.  For those who seek it out, and hopefully, it will find a wide audience, they will experience such pure joy along with Margaret on her journey into adulthood through such a kind and delightful film that transports us away from our own worries; if even just for a short while.