Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret- The Movie

Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret is a new movie based on the popular teen novel by Judy Blume.  Margaret, a 4th grader, is dealing with the stress of moving to New Jersey and dealing with the anxiety of being the new kid on the block. She often has dialogues with God when she feels uncertain about situations.

Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) soon makes new friends in her new town and school and is initiated into a secret club headed by her new neighbor, Nancy (Elle Graham). They discuss the boys they have crushes on, vow to tell when their menses arrive and agree to wear training bras. At times, at the behest of Nancy, the leader of the pact, they even become mean girls and exclude and ridicule others in their class.

But Margaret also has another dilemma. Her teacher assigns her a report on religion and it brings up a whole new set of questions and confusion for Margaret. Her parents do not attend church. Her grandmother Sylvia (Kathy Bates) takes her to a Jewish temple, but Margaret does not understand the service. She starts asking her mother questions and asks why she has never met her maternal grandparents after a conversation with her teacher.

Her mother Barbara (Rachel McAdams) admits that she is estranged from her Christian parents because she married Margaret’s father, a Jewish man (Benny Safdie). Margaret is further confused and continues her dialogues with God. She visits a variety of churches attempting to understand the meaning of religion. When her maternal grandparents finally arrive to meet Margaret for the first time, they clash with her Jewish grandmother and there is a screaming match.

Margaret spirals out of control. Her parents intercede and after all of the visitors have left, Margaret begins to come into her own and sort things out. She discovers that she doesn’t like being a mean girl, and decides to embrace kindness and tolerance, truth-telling and distances herself from those who think otherwise. She continues her talks with God as she works on becoming a more wholesome person.

It is a light yet thought-provoking movie of the time-honored book where Author Judy Blume makes a cameo appearance while walking her dog. For those parents who are seeking for a way to talk with their pubescent girls, Are You There, God?  It’s Me Margaret is an excellent tool to segue into the girl talk. The movie is an entertaining way to avert the curdling screams from the bathroom and a means for preparing their young women-becoming for the inevitable.

Lynn M.
May 13, 2023