Coming of age stories rarely get more iconic than Judy Blume’s classic novel ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’
Originally published in 1970, the book has ushered many a tween into teenage life, reassuring them that they’re not alone when strange sensations surge through their bodies and hair starts sprouting from new places.
It seems unlikely that it would have taken more than 50 years for it to be adapted into cinematic form, but here we are.
(L to R) Rachel McAdams as Barbara Dimon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ Photo Credit: Dana Hawley.
Kelly Fremon Craig, who has form with teenage strife on screen having made ‘The Edge of Seventeen’, is behind the camera again here, adapting Blume’s book.
The movie is focused on 11-year-old Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson, probably best known for playing the young Cassie Lang in the first two ‘Ant-Man’ movies), who is uprooted from her life in New York City for the suburbs of New Jersey, going through the messy and tumultuous throes of puberty with new friends in a new school.
She’s trying desperately to adapt to her new situation, itching to get in with the cool girls or just to survive a place where she is a stranger to everyone. And it doesn’t help that her body is changing.
Margaret relies on her mother, Barbara (Rachel McAdams), who is also struggling to adjust to life outside the big city, and her adoring grandmother, Sylvia (Kathy Bates), who isn’t happy they moved away and likes to remind them every chance she gets (Bates gets one of the best lines in the trailer).
Kathy Bates as Sylvia Simon in ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ Photo Credit: Dana Hawley.
For all three, questions of identity, one’s place in the world, and what brings meaning to a life will draw them closer together than ever before.
This first trailer doesn’t dig too much into Margaret’s faith, which is a big part of her life, especially since she’s the product of a Christian mother and a Jewish father.
Also in the cast are Benny Safdie––the ‘Uncut Gems’ director making his latest appearance as an actor playing that accident-prone father, Herb––plus Elle Graham,Mia Dillon, JeCobi Swain, Wilbur Fitzgerald, Ethan McDowell, Gary Houston, and Kate MacCluggage in the cast.
And behind the scenes is powerhouse producer James L. Brooks, who worked with Craig on ‘The Edge of Seventeen’ and is a filmmaker who knows a little something about finding emotion in movies, having brought us some of the most famous examples in cine-history (‘As Good as It Gets’ and ‘Terms of Endearment’ to name just two).
So if this one is a big success, could we see a series of the author’s book adapted into a cinematic universe? The umbrella title “Blumehouse” is right there, people.
‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ will be in theaters from April 28th.
(L to R) Rachel McAdams as Barbara Simon, Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon, and Benny Safdie as Herb Simon in ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ Photo Credit: Dana Hawley.
(L to R) Kathy Bates as Sylvia Simon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ Photo Credit: Dana Hawley.
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