When her family moves from the city to the suburbs, 11-year-old Margaret navigates new friends, feelings, and the beginning of adolescence.
Based on the 1970 book by Judy Blume, who also co-wrote the script, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” tells the story of a girl named Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) growing up in New York City, very much at home there. She has a strong relationship with her grandmother Sylvia, a lifelong New Yorker – played excellently as always by Kathy Bates. However, suddenly and with little warning, Margaret’s world goes topsy-turvy when she learns that her dad, Herb (Benny Safdie), has secured a new job that pays well enough so that his wife Barbara (Rachel McAdams) no longer has to teach elementary school. The catch is that the new position requires the family to move to New Jersey.
Abruptly thrust into a suburban environment, Margaret tries to make the best of things, despite her misgivings. On her first day in the family’s new home, she meets a rather forward Nancy Wheeler (Elle Graham), a neighbor the same age as Margaret, who is also in the same homeroom class. Nancy invites Margaret to join her secret club, which includes two other girls from school, Freddy (Jecobi Swain) and Gretchen (Katherine Mallen Kupferer).
The girls agree to trade and keep secrets, such as sharing the details about their first period and revealing what boys they like in the neighborhood. Despite a promising start, Margaret still misses her grandmother. Fortunately, Herb and Barbara allow Margaret to visit Sylvia periodically on overnight stays back in the city.
Since Barbara has become a stay-at-home mom, she willingly signs up for various PTA committees managed by Nancy’s mother (Kate MacCluggage), an even more presumptuous and imposing presence than her daughter. Eventually, the endless and trivial PTA duties begin to wear on Barbara as she tries to find her footing in the new environment, unlike Margaret’s dilemma.
As the movie title implies, Margaret has conversations with God from time to time. Not surprisingly, God never seems to answer directly, even if Margaret infers a response. Herb and Barbara raised Margaret in a religion-free environment, likely due to a long-past rift between the other set of in-laws (Gary Houston and Mia Dillon). When pressed by Margaret, Barbara explains that her parents are devout Christians and couldn’t accept her marrying a Jewish man. As a result, they haven’t seen each other for many years – before Margaret was born.
In the meantime, Margaret decides to explore the nuances of different religions, starting with Judaism. Sylvia is surprised and delighted to take her to the temple, introducing her to the other members. Later Margaret attends Sunday service with Freddy, a lively affair with high-spirited music and dancing. Then a staid, conservative Christian ritual replete with extensive Bible verses. She even briefly attempts to confess in a Catholic church, following the lead of fellow classmate Laura Danker (Isol Young), who has been the victim of unfair gossip.
When Barbara eventually reunites with her parents, Sylvia also arrives for a surprise visit, causing the wheels to come off the bus fairly quickly. After some predictable commotion, both sets of grandparents are summarily dispatched, leaving Margaret, Barbara, and Herb again to their own devices.
Throughout, the four girls in their secret club learn and grow together, though not always without conflict. As the girls start interacting more frequently with the boys, tinges of jealousy surface here and there to keep things interesting.
Kelly Fremon Craig directed and co-wrote the adapted screenplay to good effect – fans of the book will no doubt enjoy the film version of this poignant tale. “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” comes as close to answering the question implied by the title as one could hope and, simultaneously, provides a satisfying conclusion to a heartfelt story.
In Theaters Friday, April 28th
