Review 725: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

 

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret is a charming, life-affirming coming-of-age comedy that does justice to its source material and 

Based on the coming-of-age novel Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume; In 1970, eleven-year-old Margaret Simon (Abby Ryder Fortson) is uprooted from her life in New York to the suburbs of New Jersey, going through the messy and tumultuous throes of puberty with new friends in a new school. She relies on her mother, Barbara Simon (Rachel McAdams), who is also struggling to adjust to life outside a big city and her adoring grandmother Sylvia Simon (Kathy Bates).

the film beautifully captures the feeling of being a burgeoningly angsty teenager  of its source material. There is a very refreshing frankness to its subject matter. Almost immediately after arriving in New Jersey, 

Desperate to see which of them will get their period first, they attempt to speed up the process by getting training bras and chanting "We must, we must, 

Written and directed by Kelly Freeman Craig (only her second directorial effort after 2016's The Edge of Seventeen which I honestly didn't get much out of but it's audience certainly did), Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret has a strong sense of authenticity the cinematography is winsome, creating a picturesque look of the 1970, New Jersey, the score by Hans Zimmer is beautiful, the costumes are winsome 

Abby Ryder Fortson, whom you may recognise as little Cassie Lang from the first two Ant-Man films alongside Paul Rudd, is an absolute delight playing Margaret Simon. Margaret is just trying to fit in so much. She's wrestling with adolescents, she's wrestling with the idea of boys, she's wrestling with the idea of God. Her mum was raised Christian, her father Jewish, so she feels trapped between two worlds. Abby brings a quiet confidence to the character.

Rachel McAdams is fantastic playing Margaret's mother Barbara or "Barb" as she's often referred to, effortlessly playing off her younger co-star. Barbara goes to work when women weren't necessarily and then she decides she wants to try it the other way. So she's doing the reverse of what a lot of women were doing at that time and the irony is that Margaret is growing away from her now. So, she's coming to that realisation that there's a lot of letting go that needs to happen and a lot of self-acceptence  the mother/daughter relationship is really important to the film

The always dependable Kathy Bates is fabulous playing Margaret's grandmother Sylvia.

Benny Safdie doesn't lag far behind playing Herb Simon, Margaret's father. He's just a good guy: He cares for his family 

Elle Graham Nancy Wheeler is fun, funny, but she's harsh, she says it like it is no matter if it's a little bit rude, it's an insult tied up in a little ribbon. From the minute she shows up, it's clear she's up to no good. Over the course of their friendship, Margaret learns tough lessons about peer pressure, gossip and staying true to herself and her beliefs. 

Also well handled and touching is the dynamic between Margaret and her Echo "Curtis Holt" Kellum, he's just a jovial  teacher who only wants the kids to have the best year possible. Teaching his been such a seminal aspect of his life and it's something that he carries through