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

SeanC

By SeanC
in Movies

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SeanC

SeanC

Writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig took a while to come out with her next film after 2016's excellent The Edge of Seventeen, but it apparently took some time to convince Judy Blume, for decades unwilling to authorize a film adaptation, to let them give this a try.

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Bill1978

Bill1978

I always think I've read the book (I definitely know the title), but I really don't think I have. Pretty sure it's Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and the follow up books I read (after a quick Wiki search). But that's beside the point, that trailer was hilarious and made me laugh out loud quite a number of times, something that doesn't happen a lot these days when I watch comedic trailers. I am keen to check this out.

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Snow Apple

Snow Apple

One of my favorite books as a kid and I still have a copy published in the 70's (the pink cover with a drawing of Margaret). I was worried about a movie but that looks good. I'm glad they kept it in the 70's. Oh the first time buying pads as a tween, LOL. I also remember they actually came in big cardboard boxes like in the scene.

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Bastet

Bastet

I read this book so many times as a kid.  I still have my childhood copy, and might dust it off tonight.

I remember reading an article that later editions of the book were updated to change the belt contraption to adhesive pads.  The movie sticks with the "Teenage Softies" brand from the book, so if they go back to the iconic pink belt, there are going to be a lot of amusingly confused viewers.

I'm generally not keen to see film versions of childhood favorites (I've never seen the film version of Harriet the Spy, my very favorite), but the trailer looks charming and I love the idea of Kathy Bates as Sylvia Simon.  Unless I hear terrible things, I will watch this once it comes to streaming/TV.

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KaveDweller

KaveDweller

I didn't know they were doing a movie of this. It looks so cute. I remember reading the book several times and it looks like they are sticking pretty close. Very glad they didn't modernize it.

Rachel McAdams is old enough to play the mom? Man, that means I am old too.

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Dandesun

Dandesun

Oh man, this book was vitally important to me growing up. I read the shit out of it. It fell apart, I read it so much. I love that this is going to be a period piece (pun absolutely intended) and staying in the 70s.

ALL IN.

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Shannon L.

Shannon L.

That does look good.  I really liked Abby Ryder Fortson in Ant-Man and she looks like she's going to be great in this one.  That look she gives her mother when she asks if she really thinks she needs a bra is priceless.

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

23 hours ago, SeanC said:

Writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig took a while to come out with her next film after 2016's excellent The Edge of Seventeen, but it apparently took some time to convince Judy Blume, for decades unwilling to authorize a film adaptation, to let them give this a try.

 

2 hours ago, Dandesun said:

Oh man, this book was vitally important to me growing up. I read the shit out of it. It fell apart, I read it so much. I love that this is going to be a period piece (pun absolutely intended) and staying in the 70s.

ALL IN.

You know it!

"We Must...we must! INCREASE OUR BUST!"

😂

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Bastet

Bastet

2 hours ago, Dandesun said:

It fell apart, I read it so much.

When I opened my copy last night, I was afraid that was going to happen, but it remains mostly intact.  And was a lot of fun to re-read.  It brought to mind other books I read repeatedly as a kid; when I run errands this afternoon, I'm going to include a trip to the library to look for some old favorites.  I'll start with other Blume books (this is the only one I kept).

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

I had no idea a movie of this book was being made! I read this when I was about 11/12, so 1983/1984, and it always stuck with me!

But yeah, seeing Rachel McAdams as the mom makes ME feel ancient!

Still, I may check this out if just for the sake of nostalgia.

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voiceover

voiceover

So my main memory of this book is that there was a waiting list to borrow it from our elementary school library (consisting of only 6th grade girls, of course).  I was next in line when it was yanked from the shelves 😭.  The vague curiosity I’d harbored over it then exploded into near-obsession.

The part I remember that moved me the most was Margaret’s — and her teacher’s — reactions over her submission of that final project.   

I have mixed feelings about this finally being a movie.  Will be curious about how girls in that age range respond.  Will they nod in agreement, or think we were freaks back then?  I have colleagues who marvel over the days of the three-channel/off at midnight TVs.

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

9 minutes ago, methodwriter85 said:

If it makes you feel better, Rachel McAdams was 26 when she did Mean Girls. She was considerably older than most of that cast.

I first saw McAdams in the Canadian series, Slings and Arrows, about a Canadian theater company. Funny as hell. I highly recommend it!

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greekmom

greekmom

Saw it as a sneak peek.  It was cute. Stuck pretty much to the book. There was a blink and you miss it of Judy Blume walking in the New Jersey neighbourhood.

Recommend it for a girls night or mom and daughters.

Oh they have Judy Blume doing a reading of an expert of the book just before the movie.  

2nd flim I have gone to this month and no previews - strange.

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EtheltoTillie

EtheltoTillie

On 1/12/2023 at 7:09 PM, Bastet said:

I read this book so many times as a kid.  I still have my childhood copy, and might dust it off tonight.

I remember reading an article that later editions of the book were updated to change the belt contraption to adhesive pads.  The movie sticks with the "Teenage Softies" brand from the book, so if they go back to the iconic pink belt, there are going to be a lot of amusingly confused viewers.

 

Thank you for clearing this up!!!   I'm too old to have read this the first time around, but in preparation for seeing the movie, I took it out of the library last week--and enjoyed it.  Yes, they had adhesive pads in this edition of the book, and I said to myself that it was an anachronism!  I couldn't believe the original book would have had adhesive pads.  We had those awful belts in real life.  There is no way to convey the awfulness.  They didn't stay in place.  I switched to tampons as soon as possible. 

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

Just now, EtheltoTillie said:

Wow, is @GHScorpiosRule reading this silly forum from India?  Can't keep away?

Hah! No. I came back this past Sunday! Too short of a trip, but so, so needed!

I've been suffering from the worst case of jet lag ever!

I've had to try to readjust my brain to my American way of thinking! Just yesterday, when talking with my director, when she was explaining something, instead of saying "okay", "acha" came out of my mouth. Acha is "okay" in Hindi!😆

Ahem. Topic?

I remember those belts! I actually preferred them as there was no such thing as a

light flow

for me! And then I discovered tampons!

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voiceover

voiceover

(edited)

As long as we’re engaging in “belt v. adhesives” debate: my first period came along a month before adhesives hit stores.  And thank heavens.  I also remember the pads from vending machines (this was pre: adhesives everywhere).  They came with a set of safety pins.  God, I’m old.

On the cast front: the movie’s Moose is not the Moose of my 6th grade imaginings, and I am incredibly bummed by this.

Edited by voiceover
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Frost

Frost

I really love "Margaret" and read it as a kid, but I don't remember any talk about breasts or periods between me and my friends.  On the other hand, I was a gymnast and everyone was probably underweight.  I was wearing a training bra pretty much through the end of high school and didn't start my period until I was almost 16 (after I quit gymnastics).

I'm so glad adhesive pads were available before I started, but they were about 2 inches thick!  

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Bastet

Bastet

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

I never understood why Margaret and her friends wanted to get their periods.  Neither my friends nor I wanted it or the hassle that came with it.

Same here.  But, oh, did I relate to wanting my breasts to grow.  I didn't talk to any god, either, but I still understood Margaret on a fundamental level. 

Judy Blume's teenage characters always felt like real people to me, even if we didn't have much in common.  A lot of other books for kids were very much an adult's fantasy version of kids.  Some of them were fun stories, but I didn't connect to the characters.  In the documentary, we see an old interview in which Blume says she has total recall from something like fifth grade on -- she remembers not just what she did, but how she felt.  And it comes through in her writing.

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

10 minutes ago, Bastet said:

In the documentary, we see an old interview in which Blume says she has total recall from something like fifth grade on -- she remembers not just what she did, but how she felt. 

It was the third grade.

I think my second favorite book by Blume was Blubber because I was a victim of bullying during my elementary school years.

I was an early bloomer so I hated that I developed breasts and started my period early. I was so grateful for the training bras so I could use them to “flatten” by growing breasts.

But boy was I ever grateful for this book, that made me feel normal.

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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

2 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I never understood why Margaret and her friends wanted to get their periods.  Neither my friends nor I wanted it or the hassle that came with it.  Not to mention cramps!  Ugh.

Well, that’s the catch 20/20 of life: sometimes when you finally get what you want, you wind up realizing that you DON’T want it.

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Anela

Anela

(edited)
5 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

It was the third grade.

I think my second favorite book by Blume was Blubber because I was a victim of bullying during my elementary school years.

I was an early bloomer so I hated that I developed breasts and started my period early. I was so grateful for the training bras so I could use them to “flatten” by growing breasts.

But boy was I ever grateful for this book, that made me feel normal.

I was an early bloomer, too, and when mum got me my first bra, she horrified me by throwing it across the living room to me, in front of my uncle. 

I can't remember if I actually read this book. I read a lot, but can't remember much of what I read. I know I read Sweet Valley High books, and things like the Secret Seven (or something like that). I knew of Judy Blume, so I must have read something from her.

Edited by Anela
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Wonkabar5

Wonkabar5

This book was a staple at 11 or so year old girls' sleepover parties. I never actually saw what an actual belt looked like and was left very puzzled and somewhat horrified by the description in the book. The book must have just missed the self-adhesive sanitary napkin breakthrough because a cursory search says "early 1970's." Wasn't the book first published 1970? 

As I became older Margaret's religious journey became more interesting to me.This is what I am interested in now. That last bit in her project's letter is very poignant. I wonder if it remains the same or has changed. 

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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

43 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

DAMMIT. The stupid app for Regal isn't working for tonight's show times! So I guess I'll be seeing this tomorrow.

If it makes you feel any better I probably won’t get to see it for a while because nobody wants to go with me. I really should get back to my pre-pandemic tradition of seeing movies solo…

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Bastet

Bastet

23 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

If it makes you feel any better I probably won’t get to see it for a while because nobody wants to go with me. I really should get back to my pre-pandemic tradition of seeing movies solo…

If you go to the movies with someone, they're just a person sitting next to you, so the only upside is having someone to discuss it with immediately afterward.  But you can just come here and do that.  🙂

There's very, very little I go see at the cinema anymore, and this won't be one of those exceptions, but I will rent it if it doesn't wind up streaming on something to which I have access because the Judy Blume documentary got me so excited about her anew I'm really in the mood for this.

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AgathaC

AgathaC

On 4/23/2023 at 2:19 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

It was the third grade.

I think my second favorite book by Blume was Blubber because I was a victim of bullying during my elementary school years.

I was an early bloomer so I hated that I developed breasts and started my period early. I was so grateful for the training bras so I could use them to “flatten” by growing breasts.

But boy was I ever grateful for this book, that made me feel normal.

Always interesting to hear other perspectives! I was a late bloomer (nearly 14) and that wasn’t really fun either. I looked about 9 until the summer before high school. My mom bought me a training bra just so I wouldn’t feel left out. I read books like this and definitely felt empathy, but also this mixed feeling.

Anyway, everything I’ve seen or heard about this makes me eager to see it. As I live in a house full of males, it will likely be solo.😉

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bluegirl147

bluegirl147

On 4/28/2023 at 4:51 PM, Spartan Girl said:

If it makes you feel any better I probably won’t get to see it for a while because nobody wants to go with me. I really should get back to my pre-pandemic tradition of seeing movies solo…

Go see it by yourself.  It's worth it.  Saw it today with my daughter in law and granddaughter and it is so good.  You will laugh.  You will say awww. And you will get a little misty.   The kids are great.  Rachel McAdams is great. And Kathy Bates is great. 

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shipmate

shipmate

I loved this. It made me cry and made me remember how much I loved the book growing up - esp in a house where my parents, although they meant well, always felt too awkward to talk to me about anything. 

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Sarahsmile416

Sarahsmile416

Just saw this today with my 9 year old (I was a bit worried about the slut shaming aspect of it, but it went over her head).   She loved it though - and had a ton of empathy for the character of Laura (she thought Nancy was mean to her because she was tall lol) and thought Nancy wasn’t a good friend.   

Correct me if I’m wrong because it’s been awhile since I read the book - but I don’t remember any real rift between Nancy and Margaret at the end as the movie suggested there might be 

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

I also just got back from seeing this tonight. I laughed. I cried.

I haven’t read this since the fifth time I read it as a tween. And unfortunately I don’t have the original book because my parents didn’t but books for me at that age. It was always the library.

But I do remember two things from the book that they changed for the movie:

One, the scenes with the grandparents? It was Margaret who said she wasn’t Jewish when Sylvia proclaimed her to be in the book. Two, at the end, Margaret had gone up to Moose to claim something or other, her hand planted on her hips. And it ended with him telling her she was still in his way. I wish they’d kept the book version, but whatever.

The theater all HOWLED at the scene where Margaret and Janie went to the drugstore to get pads (Teenage Softies😂😂😂😂😂), and the bored look on the teenage boy’s face as he turned on the conveyor belt. And how Margaret threw the case of Tic Tacs at the last minute.

Elle was PERFECT as Nancy. I never liked her in the book and Elle’s performance was pitch perfect.

Of course there would be a cameo of Judy Blume! I didn’t realize she was also one of the producers!

Aaaand, “We must! We must! We must increase our bust!” had us all 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

I just may go to see it again!

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SeanC

SeanC

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I saw this in a theatre seated in front of a row of tween girls similar in age to the protagonist, and while I generally despise people talking during movies, listening to their earnest chatter about the events onscreen was the absolute best way to watch this while outside the target audience. They were really into the film.

Best use of "Son of a Preacher Man" on film since Tarantino.

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Bastet

Bastet

While I'm not going to go see this in the theatre, I love that I can hang out in here reading reactions from those who have, since I can't be spoiled about events in a film based on a book I've read at least half a dozen times.

This:

16 hours ago, SeanC said:

I saw this in a theatre seated in front of a row of tween girls similar in age to the protagonist, and while I generally despise people talking during movies, listening to their earnest chatter about the events onscreen was the absolute best way to watch this while outside the target audience. They were really into the film.

made my morning.

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

12 minutes ago, Bastet said:

While I'm not going to go see this in the theatre, I love that I can hang out in here reading reactions from those who have, since I can't be spoiled about events in a film based on a book I've read at least half a dozen times.

Since I’ve read that Judy updated the original about changing the blasted “belt” to the adhesives, and I can’t remember (which is infuriating because I can remember almost everything), can you confirm if the belt was described in the copy you have? Like I posted above, my parents didn’t buy the books, any books, except for enchanted tales for me and my sister.

But I do have to acknowledge that reading the book prepared me for when I got my period and my mother was so calm about it and in showing me how to use the belt! YES, I wore that contraption for the first few months before I used the adhesives. My younger sister was just like Nany; arrogant about when she would get it and wasn’t worried, until she got it and panicked like Nancy and cried to me to get our Mum.

Now, when it came to sex education- my parents had no issues signing the permission slip. Which was a shocker considering the strict upbringing and dire warnings from my Mum about EVUHLS of boys!😂😂😂🙄🙄🙄

So the movie they showed  to Margaret, Nancy, Jamie, Gretchen, and the other girls and their reactions had us all laughing!

While the theater wasn’t packed- there were about three other couples, one family, and two other women, it was like we all were laughing and nodding our heads in remembrance of our reactions when we saw watched the same type of movie! Minus the dads in the audience, of course! I remember the film I watched  as soon as it started to show the egg before the sperm was about to fertilize it, my teacher quickly turned it off! Because we hadn’t gotten to the sex ed portion yet!

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overtherainbow

overtherainbow

I loved Kathy Bates as the grandmother and Rachel McAdams as the mom in this!

I also felt the millennial director did a really good job depicting the general grunginess of the 70s - I wasn't a 70s kid but the ugly décor and colors all felt very familiar with everything I've seen of that era. No doubt Judy Blume had a decent role in the film as well. 

The book will of course remain timeless for tweens but I think the movie is a great addition to a digitized world.

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