Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret Movie Review

ATTENTION! ATTENTION! IF YOU HAVE INTENTIONS OF SEEING ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET AND YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY, DO NOT SCROLL DOWN!!!!!!!
Plus- this review has nothing to do with Judy Blume’s recent controversy involving her support for J.K Rowling.

Usually, when I review something, I don’t like it. Not today. Are You There God is a well put together, coming-of-age, “Wow, I have nothing bad to say about that movie” movie. It was released on April 28, 2023, and everything about it is great. There, I said it, I don’t hate everything.

THE TARGET AUDIENCE
Most movies have at least one target audience to make sure the movie will sell. This movie has three that I can think of. People who have read the Judy Blume book this movie is based off of, girls who are going through puberty, and people affected by peer pressure. I am a 7th grade boy who has not read the Judy Blume book, and as far as I’m concerned, I don’t feel really affected by peer pressure yet. I’m juuuust outside the target audience for this movie. Oddly enough, watching this movie, it was very relatable. This movie doesn’t need a target audience. Its themes are compelling and well-executed in so many different ways. In some ways, I’ve heard, much different from the book. For example, as Margaret struggles with peer pressure, so does her mom. Margaret’s mom joins every PTA committee she can because she wanted to impress the head of the PTA, and later realizes the mess she got herself into, highlighting the fact that a “peer” isn’t always a child or teen, but by definition, anyone in your age group. At the end of the movie, both Margaret and her mother learn to resist peer pressure at about the same time. This is pulled off really well, and it had me gripped every quarter of the movie. Speaking of quarters…

FOUR QUARTERS
The movie doesn’t say so, but I felt a four-way divide in the story, and in the best way possible. Each 30-45 minutes of the movie felt like it could’ve been an episode of a TV show, but it just feels better in a movie. The first quarter is a heartwarming, hilarious exposition. I would take all of these characters in their original forms throughout the whole movie and still have a good time. The second quarter is a coming of age story that had me engaged all the way through, thanks to the aforementioned peer pressure theme. The third quarter ends the gradual ascension into the religious part of the plot. While not as well executed as the peer pressure theme, it still pulls at the heartstrings and makes for a sad, sad, sad, sad, sad climax. The last quarter… OK, this is the only part I’ll criticize. Everybody recovers from the climax so quickly, almost like it never happened and didn’t have to happen for the story to end. Regardless, it’s still satisfying. These quarters definitely made me interested in how this would be pulled off if it were a 6-episode TV show. With the four quarters of the movie and some filler episodes in between, I think I would have enjoyed it.

OTHER GOOD THINGS
Great acting, especially from Abby Ryder Fortson, Kathy Bates, and Elle Graham
Fun, smooth cinematography
Catchy score, and nostalgic music DONE RIGHT (coughmariomoviecoughcough)
Funny jokes
It felt good to slow down on watching high-stakes Marvel beat-em-ups and big budget blockbusters and watch a lighthearted movie
I am aware that I have far less to say about this movie, maybe because I don’t hate it or dislike it at all, but I just wanted to get the word out there about this awesome movie, because it is currently bombing at the box office after three weeks of being in theaters. If you get the chance, please give this movie a watch because it’s really good and has barely made half of it’s 30 million dollar budget.
FINAL SCORE: 9/10