I went into Lionsgate’s newest movie “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret” blind, having never read the Judy Blume book as a child, and I have to say it kind of shocked me. I’m sure if you grew up in the ’90s when Judy Blume was ‘all the rage’ you’re probably rolling your eyes right now wondering why I even bothered writing this review. However — my friend was super excited to see this movie, and I just had to know why it made her so happy. So when Lionsgate randomly invited us both (separately) I knew this was my chance! The fact that Elle Graham from “Secrets of Sulphur Springs” was in this, along with Echo Kellum from “Grand Crew”, just happened to be a pleasant surprise.
But if you’re like me and have no idea what this one’s about, or just don’t remember because you haven’t read the book in so long. “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret” is about an 11-year-old, who’s forced to move to a new town, despite begging God to make the move impossible. And when her prayers to at least have her new life not be so sucky go unanswered, she begins to question if God is real.
Full “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret” Movie Review
“Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret” Is A Must See For Tweens
It’s a wonderful exploration of “what is religion” and makes a great starter to an otherwise sometimes awkward conversation about boys, periods, bras, and yes God. And I can’t wait to take my tween (who’s also 11) to see this when it comes out! Mostly because I want to see the pure terror on her face during the spin-the-bottle scene as she realizes how cringe the 90s were when I was a kid. But also because it’ll be interesting to see how she reacts to the religious aspects of the film, and what stands out for her the most.
But even without her seeing it, I can safely say — you can add “It’s Me Margaret” on the shelf right next to “Turning Red” — as another must-see coming-of-age movie for tweens! It’s not as explosive and entertaining as “Turning Red”, but it does add nicely to the conversation of adolescence. And it totally gives me “The Babysitter’s Club” vibes, without all the drama.
Keep in mind, “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret” isn’t a deep film at all.
So don’t go into this expecting more than a cute film you can watch with the kids. However, it is definitely worth seeing on the big screen if you can and makes a great relaxing weekend film. Well — as relaxing as one can get while looking at dick photos in an anatomy textbook. Yeah, they go there. So be prepared!
However, as someone who grew up super religious and now struggles to believe in anything at all because of it, this one hits close to home. Not to mention, Kathy Bates plays Margaret’s grandmother and her character reminds me so much of my aunt in this. From just her lovely personality to her being so excited whenever Margaret came by. So that did make me a little emotional while watching this. And I think that connection to her character, along with having a tween of my own going through the same things at the moment, is what really helped me stay connected to this film despite not having read the book. Either way, this movie was delightful and I’m so happy I watched it. I hope you feel the same.
