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

For the longest time, I had never read any literature aimed at girls, as I had grown up towards the end of an era where boys rigidly consumed media aimed at their demographic, at least out in the open (before the “Brony” phenomenon challenged this idea in the 2010s). As an adult, I would finally do so as part of an exploration of middle grade material, which would include Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., Judy Blume’s 1970 novel famous for its frank discussion of female puberty and religious topics, after learning of its 2023 film adaptation of the same name. Despite reading it as a grown man, I found the novel engaging and understood its cultural significance, which made me more curious about the film, although I sadly didn’t get the opportunity to see it during its original theatrical run. Nevertheless, I did finally get the chance near the end of the year and found that on top of its high quality, it did the source material proper justice and it’s a shame that not enough people saw it.

In 1970, eleven-year-old Maragat Simon (Abby Ryder Fortson) learns that she and her parents, Barbara (Rachel McAdams) and Herb (Benny Safdie), moving from New York to a New Jersey suburb, which means she’ll also be away from her grandmother Sylvia (Kathy Bates). Upset about the move, Margaret begins communicating with God about her innermost feelings. In New Jersey, she becomes friends with Nancy Wheeler (Elle Graham), who invites her into a secret group with two other girls, Gretchen Potter (Katherine Kupferer) and Janie Loomis (Amari Alexis Price). As she tries to navigate her oncoming puberty and life at her new school, her teacher, Mr. Benedict (Echo Kellum), gives the class a year-long research assignment. When Mr. Benedict learns why Margaret dislikes religious holidays, her Christian mother and Jewish didn’t celebrate them and left it up to her to decide her religion when she got older, he suggests that she explore her relationship with religion for her research topic.

The Simons move to New Jersey; L-R: Barbara (Rachel McAdams),
Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson), Herb (Benny Safdie)

From the beginning, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. faithfully adapts the story from the book, down to the same plot progression and 1970 setting. While there are some small changes here and there, none of them take away from the spirit of the story and work well for the sake of the medium, in some cases even enhancing the material. For instance, Margaret has more of a redemption at the end for how she treated one of her fellow students and there’s more of a subplot showing the story from the perspective of her mother Barbara, who has a hard time balancing community involvement with her home life and her own creative endeavors.

Although I couldn’t relate 100% to Margaret’s puberty struggles, as male puberty differs from female puberty in certain ways, I did still relate to her on an emotional level. On top of dealing with the hormonal changes that come with hitting that age, there’s also the struggle of fitting in with a new and unfamiliar setting where hundreds of other kids are hitting the same changes and learning how to make the right friends, as well as realizing that others may not be who they seem or who they’re cracked up to be. As such, it’s satisfying when she figures out how to stay true to herself, a message that anyone in her age group would find worth learning.

As for the frank discussions of certain topics, I felt the story handled them very well and in a way that would still resonate with audiences today. Due to how I viewed the film, I can confirm that Margaret’s puberty struggles remain universal and that although the use of menstrual pads is slightly anachronistic, it has helped the story remain relevant for its intended audience long after the book’s original publication. I also thought the story used its religious aspects very well as part of Margaret’s journey of self-discovery and showing one way of raising a child in an interfaith marriage.

Barbara (left) and Margaret (right) are very well-written.

Since Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. sticks with the book’s 1970 setting, a decision I feel was for the best, it does a good job at capturing the time period, at least as far as I can tell. As a nice bit of flavor, you can even hear someone watching Julia Child’s cooking show The French Chef in the background at one point. All of the licensed music is also of the time and these are used in very appropriate situations.

What helps the film is its strong acting. Abby Ryder Fortson, whom some may know as Cassie Lang from the first two Ant-Man movies, does an excellent job in the title role, as does Rachel McAdams as Barbara. While the rest of the cast is composed of both younger and more seasoned actors, I found them all impressive and wonder what will come of the newer talent.

Regardless of your identity or faith, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. is an excellent film that I would highly recommend. Even over 50 years later, it’s evident that Judy Blume’s work can still have an impact.