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

Judy Blume’s seminal 1970 novel, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., has been challenged for decades for its frank discussions of sexuality and religion through the lens of an 11-year-old girl. 50-plus years later, the film adaptation by writer/director Kelly Freeman Craig (The Edge of Seventeen) confronts these themes head-on in a much-appreciated fresh approach that will hopefully inspire a new generation of young people to start having the same conversations — ones that unfortunately are still hard to have today.

Craig dives into the “controversial” material head-on, and in the honest and earnest performances from Rachel McAdams as Barbara, and Abby Ryder Fortson (Ant-Man and The Wasp) as her preteen daughter Margaret, it’s hard not to see yourself or those you love. 

In the suburbs of 1980s New Jersey, Margaret navigates her social life, trying to play it cool around the neighborhood girls while also dealing with the fact that she has yet to get her period. She practices using pads and does various workouts with friends in order to “increase her bust,” and Fortson plays these ups and downs with infectious sincerity. Exploring the topics of menstruation and gender identity through the eyes of a girl experiencing it for the first time has already been banned and ruffled feathers in the book form, but Craig’s ability to sincerely relay these experiences plays more like education than exploitation. 

On top of her incoming puberty and all that it entails, Margaret is also exploring religion, which isn’t easy when you’re the daughter of a Jewish father (played to heartwarming effect by Benny Safdie) and a Christian mother. Margaret’s paternal grandmother, played by the scene-stealing Kathy Bates, wants nothing more than for her granddaughter to continue following the traditions of her Jewish faith, but her loving parents would prefer Margaret decide for herself.

In addition to these struggles, the neighborhood girls she’s getting close with seem to be experiencing womanhood at a faster pace then she is, and with the odds of anything happening to her seeming insurmountable, she’s desperate to pray to someone and ask for help. Within this spiritual dilemma, the film finds its footing –  it’s equal parts emotional and heartwarming, and you can’t help but root for Margaret and her journey into her teen years.

As she did in The Edge of Seventeen, Craig translates self-absorbed, “woe is me” protagonists into likeable characters via relatable drama — something the film’s producer, James L. Brooks, struggled to do in his films centered on family dynamics, particularly I’ll Do Anything and Spanglish.

In addition to Fortson’s breakout performance, McAdams successfully traverses complex emotions as a conflicted mother trying to break out of the role of a suburban housewife, a role she feels she has to play now that the family has moved to the suburbs and her husband makes enough money for her to stay home. Following these distinctly female perspectives, unapologetically having a conversation about a communal experience that has been stigmatized and politicized, Craig is able to cut through the politics and show viewers the humanity of dealing with the pressures of growing up without condemnation or being preachy. 

Craig’s vision of Margaret as an avatar for herself, or anyone who has been through this normal, human experience, is so vividly translated on screen with relatability and charm, making her Blume adaptation one to watch.  

Grade: B-plus. Rated PG-13. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, Grail Moviehouse, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: Dana Hawley/Lionsgate)