Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023)

CinemaSerf

7.0

May 24, 2023

The engaging Abby Ryder Fortson is on strong form here as the eponymous girl who finds herself shifted by her parents to live across the Hudson in New Jersey. Now they are an happy family: mum "Barbara" (Rachel McAdams) and dad "Herb" (Benny Safdie) that is egged on now and again by her favourite, and mischievous, grandmother "Sylvia" (Kathy Bates). New house, new school, new friends and quickly settling in, she joins a secret club with three other girls and what now ensues is a rather poignant and entertaining coming-of-age tale as the girls compete with each other for just about everything f…

“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” is one of the first books I remember reading where I felt like the author really understood what it was like to be me. Judy Blume’s beloved book has been considered a rite of passage for many young girls, and the pressure of adapting the work for the screen had to be enormous for writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig. Thankfully, the film does the source material justice, creating a timeless coming-of-age story that brings the classic book to life. Sixth grader Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) is 11 when she is unexpectedly uprooted from her life in New York…

If I didn't know better, I'd think this was a Neil Simon play. But I'm not a girl and in my youth I read Hardy Boys, not Judy Blume. The movie is very well done. Abby Ryder Fortson does one helluva job with the lead role. It's a little humorous and a little heartwarming. And I hate to give it only a 7, but it's just not my cup of tea and I didn't see anything so super creative that it deserved a higher score.