Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

Plot

In 1970, 11-year-old Margaret Simon is informed by her parents Barbara and Herb that they are moving from New York City to a New Jersey suburb, as Herb has received a promotion. Upset about leaving her friends and paternal grandmother Sylvia, Margaret begins communicating with God about her concerns, anxieties, and hopes. Upon moving to New Jersey, Margaret is quickly befriended by her neighbor and soon-to-be classmate Nancy Wheeler. Nancy welcomes Margaret into her friend group with two other girls, Gretchen Potter and Janie Loomis.

As the school year begins, Margaret's teacher, Mr. Benedict, gives his class a year-long research assignment. After reading Margaret's answers to a class questionnaire, he asks Margaret why she dislikes religious holidays; she explains her family does not observe them. As her mother is a Christian and her father is Jewish, they feel Margaret should decide on her own religious identity when she becomes an adult. In response, Mr. Benedict suggests Margaret choose religion as her research assignment subject.

Prompted by her assignment, Margaret asks her mother why she has never met her maternal grandparents. Barbara reveals she is estranged from her devoutly Christian parents Paul and Mary, who disowned her for marrying a Jewish man.

During a weekend visit to New York, Margaret asks Sylvia to take her to temple, which Sylvia gladly does. Meanwhile, Barbara attempts to fit in with the PTA by signing up for multiple committees, which draw her away from her main interests—painting and teaching art.

Margaret and her new friends anticipate the milestones of puberty, including wearing a bra and having their first kisses. At a classmate's birthday party, Margaret shares her first kiss with Philip Leroy, a popular boy in her class, during two minutes in heaven. She also attends varied church services with Nancy and Janie.

After viewing a video on menstruation at school, the girls become excited about starting their periods. Margaret grows impatient when other girls get theirs before she does, including Gretchen and allegedly Nancy. One night while Margaret is dining in New York with the Wheelers, a distraught Nancy gets her period. Surprised at Nancy's tearful reaction, Margaret is upset to discover Nancy had lied about getting her period earlier.

At school, Margaret is assigned a group project with Laura Danker, a classmate ostracized by her peers (especially Nancy) for developing early. While working together in the library, Margaret jealously brings up rumors about Laura letting boys "feel her up". Upset, Laura storms out. Immediately regretting her words, Margaret follows Laura to a Catholic church where she sees her exit a confessional. Afterward, Margaret enters the confessional but is too nervous to tell the priest more than she "did something awful" before running out.

Margaret's spring break plans to visit Sylvia in Florida are thwarted when Barbara announces her parents are coming to meet Margaret. Learning of the cancelation, Sylvia arrives at the Simons' on the day of Paul and Mary's visit. After dinner, the evening becomes awkward when Paul and Mary question Margaret about attending Sunday school. Sylvia retorts that because Margaret accompanied her to temple in New York, her granddaughter had already chosen to become Jewish. This sparks an argument among the adults over what religion Margaret should follow. Margaret shouts at everyone to stop fighting, proclaiming she does not care about religion and does not believe in God.

Margaret hands in her research paper, which expresses her disillusionment with religion. Soon, she reconciles with her parents and Sylvia. At the end of the school year, Margaret thanks Mr. Benedict for being a good teacher. At the school carnival, she befriends Laura, asking her to dance, with Janie joining them shortly afterward. Barbara, who has since returned to teaching painting, tells Nancy's mother Jan, the PTA president, that she will no longer volunteer for committee work.

Before leaving for summer camp, Margaret talks to Moose Freed (a friend of Nancy's brother Evan), whom Margaret has been interested in throughout the year. They agree to spend time together when she returns. At home, she discovers her first period has arrived and excitedly tells her mother, who is thrilled for her. Margaret resumes her communication with God, thanking him.

Production

After rejecting several offers to adapt her book in the 49 years since its publication, author Judy Blume sold the film rights to James L. Brooks and Kelly Fremon Craig, who worked together on The Edge of Seventeen (2016), with Craig set to write and direct. A studio bidding war over the distribution rights was won by Lionsgate.

In February 2021, it was announced that Abby Ryder Fortson would star as the titular Margaret, with Rachel McAdams cast as her mother. Kathy Bates was added to the cast in March. In April, Benny Safdie joined the cast.

Principal photography began on April 1, 2021, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Filming also took place in Concord, North Carolina late in May, and wrapped in June 2021. Hans Zimmer composed the film's score.

Release

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. had its world premiere at the San Francisco International Film Festival on April 23, 2023, and was released on April 28, 2023, by Lionsgate Films. It was originally scheduled to be released on September 16, 2022.

The film was released on VOD on June 6, 2023, with a Blu-ray and DVD release that followed on July 11, 2023.

Reception

Box office

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. grossed $20.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $1.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $21.5 million.

In the United States and Canada, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. was released alongside Big George Foreman and Sisu, and was projected to gross $7–9 million from 3,334 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $2.3 million on its first day, including $600,000 from early previews. It went on to debut to $6.8 million, finishing third behind holdovers The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Evil Dead Rise. In its second weekend the film made $3.2 million, finishing in fourth.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 99% of 232 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Effervescent and refreshingly frank about the travails of puberty, this long-awaited adaptation does full justice to Judy Blume's seminal novel." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 84 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it an 88% positive score (with an average 4.5 out of 5 stars).

Critics praised the film for being a faithful adaptation of the book while also fleshing out its adult characters. Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood described the film as a "rip-roaring, funny, human, wonderful studio movie comedy you might have forgotten Hollywood knew how to make any more", and praised the film's cast, Craig's direction, and the decision to leave the story set in the 1970s, which was the setting of the novel. Hammond pointed out how "every character in this film is finding there is much to learn in life at whatever point you happen to be." Time called Fortson "marvelous" and said she "[captures] all of Margaret's eager earnestness". Amy Nicholson of Variety said "There’s plenty in [the film] to treasure" and "the [girls'] friendship scenes are standouts", but opined the film also "seems uneasy putting funny, flawed and all-too-realistic Margaret on screen exactly as she is."