Directed by: Kelly Fremon Craig
Starring: Abby Ryder Fortson, Rachel McAdams, Benny Safdie, Kathy Bates, Elle Graham
Rated PG-13, 106 minutes
Long before the current wave of book bans that has swept through parts of the country, there was Judy Blume’s coming-of-age novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” Following a year in the life of the titular pre-teen as she makes friends at a new school, anxiously anticipates the start of puberty, and considers the place religion and God have in her life, Margaret’s story is both innocuous and subversive, a slice-of-life comedy about kids being kids that also broaches subjects usually unaddressed in children’s media. Published in 1970, Blume’s novel has faced frequent challenges and bans ever since.
Kelly Fremon Craig’s (“The Edge of Seventeen”) charming new adaptation never shies away from the source material’s controversial elements, but “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” isn’t here to push buttons. Full of light humor and sunny suburban calm, the movie rolls along like a low-stakes chat with friends. Margaret Simon (Abby Ryder Fortson, “Ant-Man and the Wasp”) develops a crush on the boy who mows the lawn; she and her friends form a secret club to gossip about their classmates; her mother, Barbara (Rachel McAdams, “Mean Girls”), joins the PTA and gets stuck cutting out thousands of blue felt stars to decorate the gymnasium.
Yet these everyday moments coexist with bigger questions and thornier dramas, some timeless—questions of religious faith, of cruelty and contrition—and some that can only weigh so much in the minds of children. “We must—we must—we must increase our bust!” chant Margaret and her friends, thrusting their elbows back and forth in an attempt to speed up puberty’s arrival. Later, Margaret’s friend Nancy (Elle Graham, “Secrets of Sulphur Springs”) sends her a postcard to announce that she’s started menstruating, plunging Margaret into a fit of agonizing jealousy.
Kelly Fremon Craig’s endearing script neither takes a jaded attitude toward Margaret’s childish concerns nor gives in to mockery when characters act foolishly. Her direction of the excellent cast brings to life the many oddities and dubious certitudes among them, lending the whole affair the feeling of a boisterous family reunion. Standing out among them is Kathy Bates (“Misery”) as Margaret’s grandmother Sylvia, a New Yorker who spoils the girl while not-so-subtly pressuring her to embrace Judaism; Bates, with her expressive face and energetic delivery, lends a brightness to her scenes, lifting up everyone around her.
At the film’s center, though, are Abby Ryder Fortson and Rachel McAdams. Even if the contours of Margaret’s story sometimes leave Fortson and McAdams emoting flatly, these moments are far outnumbered by compelling episodes between them. In one scene, Margaret asks her mother for a bra, the request appearing to catch them both off-guard; the subsequent department store scene is just as awkward, the two learning in real time how to talk to each other about the finer points of womanhood.
Margaret’s religious wanderings are similarly compelling, if not presented in as great detail as her prepubescent concerns. The child of an interfaith marriage, Margaret takes it upon herself to explore her options. She attends a synagogue service with her grandmother; she goes with one friend to a church service of vibrant gospel singing, and with another friend to a solemn Christmas mass; she even steps briefly inside a Catholic confessional booth. If the movie grapples with these religious experiences superficially—the primary difference between Judaism and Christianity, she learns, is that one service is held in Hebrew and the other in English—Margaret’s conclusion that none of these options fits her understanding of the world is emblematic nonetheless of her newfound maturity.
Margaret’s self-imposed sense of responsibility, portrayed with aplomb by Fortson, connects the seemingly disparate strands of her story, her budding adolescence and her lack of religion. “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” is a classic story for young girls for obvious reasons, but Kelly Fremon Craig’s richly empathetic version is for anyone, exploring that moment when youth gives way to slightly older youth, when we realize that we are capable of shaping our own minds. It may not be a direct response to the recent book bans that are depriving children of the fullness of literature and history, but the film is still a powerful reminder that our greatest gift in life is the chance to come up with our own answers to its biggest questions.
Originally published in The Harvard Press on 5/12/23.