ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S ME, MARGARET. Movie Review With Katie Walsh

The long-awaited film version of the beloved Judy Blume book is finally here, and it may end up being one of the year's best. The brilliant Katie Walsh (Tribune News Service, @katiewalshstx) helps out with a review of "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.," the classic, coming-of-age story of a sixth-grade girl navigating puberty in the suburbs. Written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig ("The Edge of Seventeen"). Starring Abby Ryder Fortson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Bennie Safdie and Elle Graham. In theaters April 28.
#areyoutheregod #itsmemargaret #judyblume
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[@SAM-MME]

I watched this with my 12 year old daughter last week in an early showing and we loved it!!!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

So glad you saw it together!

[@Wiz83]

Abby Ryder Fortson has come a long way since her days as Ant-Man's adorable daughter. I see a long career ahead for her.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

She really has great instincts.

[@mattjazzfan2288]

My dads family is Jewish and my moms family is Christian, so I immediately started crying during the scene where Rachel McAdams starts talking about her parents disowning her. Great review as always by the way!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

That scene is incredible. Thanks for watching!

[@bluescat59]

Soundtrack was killer . Flashback to my 1970 experience

[@matchesmalone2625]

I just finished watching this on a flight to Chicago. This movie is simply delightful. This will probably be a top 10 movie for me this year

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Probably for us, as well! Glad you caught up with it.

[@gaildubas8651]

Can’t wait to see this movie! I am 58 and loved the book and Judy Blume!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

That's great, Gail! You're going to love it.

[@jenniferbaumgarden9293]

I read this when I was in the 4th or 5th grade, in the mid 80's and loved it! I remember having to ask my mom what a pad "belt" was, and she had to tell me that they hadn't invented the self-adhesive kind yet back when the book was written. LOL

[@BreakfastAllDay]

You'll have to check it out and let us know what you think!

[@maddiemaccheese8170]

This is my mom's favorite book from when she was a kid!! We finally sat down to watch it last night and we both absolutely loved it. It brought back a lot of memories for her and, on top of being super relateable to women and girls who have lived through that age, it was also very insightful and well paced. Overall we both loved it, and if I have daughters and/or nieces someday, I'll definitely show them this movie!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

So glad! A lovely story to share across generations, and yes, so relatable no matter how old you are.

[@maddiemaccheese8170]

@@BreakfastAllDay I fully agree! I love your reviews by the way, keep up the amazing work!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

@@maddiemaccheese8170 So sweet, thank you!

[@craigbarr2003]

This review makes me happy. Kelly's a hell of a filmmaker.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Truly!

[@tlovehater]

Edge of Seventeen was very good.

[@tonyg76]

Terrible filmmaker. Have not liked either of her movies so far.

[@BobSullivanAKABuffy]

Just back from seeing it. I swear I was the only one in the theater old enough to remember 1970. I'm so used to going to matinees with other 'old' people but it was lots of moms and daughters and young friends together. I too loved it. And I was wondering as I was watching "Could this get a Best Picture nom?!". On the walk home, I passed a bus stop near the theater where two young women were talking about their first bras! And even I cried at that scene!

[@BobSullivanAKABuffy]

And call me stupid but I was so surprised by how much religion played into it (even though GOD is in the title). I wasn't really a reader back then.

[@BobSullivanAKABuffy]

And my Protestant Irish grandmother didn't want her daughter marrying my Boston Catholic Irish dad. My mom told her "Then you'll never see the grandkids" and apparently she changed her mind.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

@@BobSullivanAKABuffy And the movie handles religion in such a clear-eyed, non-judgmental way. It's just part of her journey through adolescence, figuring out who she is.

[@Tchelitchew.]

Hey, it's wall-to-wall Judy Blume coverage on Breakfast All Day lately. I love it!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Woo hoo!

[@iansmart4158]

I love all types of films from all types of places. But I really loved how it didn't mock religion. It had Skeptics, Catholics, Jewish people, Protestants. Just a variety of perspectives about how ppl should live. And it isn't a story about how God or the idea of a higher power is BAD, but about how it's up to the person to decide and find their own way into a given religious ideology. Being atheist or being a religious person isn't given any more moral weight than the other. They all exist on equal footing, and it's about what's best for the individual, not what is objective right. Loved McAdams and Safdie in this. Great work.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Isn't that refreshing? Thanks for your thoughtful points.

[@susanspiteri4810]

Watching later to night I’m 77yrs never heard before looking forward❤️❤️🕊️✨🕊️✨

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Great! You’re going to love it.

[@brittyn]

I grew up in the 80s/90s and this was so relatable! Loved it.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

So glad!

[@Sachin_C10]

Thank you Miss Christy for replying to me on twitter, I missed both of you. The best duo! 😂 Is back!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Thanks very much! Always love having Katie here.

[@musicmann1967]

I'm an older dude in my 60's and I never really had Judy Blume on my radar somehow until you and Dave White reviewed the doc. The title "Are You There God? It's me, Margaret" somehow filtered into my brain somewhere in the past simply by cultural osmosis, but I really did not know a thing about what it was. This seems interesting. And the cultural relevance swinging back around again because of our current state of heightened culture wars is SO weird to me. That this topic would be banned is f**ked up. I wonder if I would like this movie? I'll probably give it a try!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Please do!

[@sonicsnake44]

My story is actually not to different than yours just 2 decades younger and I really enjoyed this film.

[@veganpeace7890]

I'm so happy! I love Judy Blume and I can't wait to see this!!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Great, let us know what you think!

[@DisneyFan-eg3oz]

David here I been a movie buff for over fifty years I just saw this this morning and I thought it was a fantastic movie. A must see! 😀😊

[@BreakfastAllDay]

So glad it charmed you too!

[@johnoates3791]

I’m so happy y’all loved this! I have not stopped thinking about it since seeing it, much like how I didn’t stop thinking about it for a while after reading it all the way back in 6th grade in 2004.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Glad you loved it too!

[@sonicsnake44]

I really enjoyed this film. A mother & daughter sat in front of me which made it extra special.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

That's great!

[@Celestialrob]

I’ve not seen this yet. Can’t wait. Love you 2. Thank you.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Thanks Rob!

[@Exiled_Rouge]

Katie Walsh and Dave White are my favorite reviewers. Happy to see them on the channel lately.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Thanks for the encouragement!

[@suneyeintuition4315]

*spoiler alert* I like how the graduation party scene where Margaret, Laura, and Janie dance sort of hints at a change-up in friend groups heading into junior high. It makes you long for a part two, to see how growing up progresses for all these girls.

[@kellyrob4296]

STILL, Must See This Film❣️ MSTF!!!♥️

[@angelthman1659]

Great movie! It'll be in my top 10, and I'm an adult dude. Rachel McAdams' best performance ever. I got teary-eyed at the end, too.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

She's wonderful in this. Glad you loved it!

[@DavidN369]

Ms. Craig's The Edge of Seventeen" is a particular fave coming-of-age film, and have been a Blumehead since MY adolescence, when I was inhaling every YA book I could regardless of gender designations, so to say I'm excited about this one is an understatement,. Am. So. There. Thank you, Christy and Katie.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Thanks, David! Let us know what you think.

[@DavidN369]

@@BreakfastAllDay Saw. Loved. The cast couldn't be better -- Abby Ryder Fortson might have walked off Judy Blume's pages, and if Rachel McAdams has ever given us more, I missed it, she made me laugh, cry and nod my head in equal measure -- it looked exactly like the world in which I grew up, and it got my highest stamp of approval -- I bought it for future revisits. You two totally nailed it. Thanks again.

[@tonipeluso]

Yeah Katie Walsh!!! Love when she's here! :)

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Always love chatting with Katie.

[@MayorOfEarth79]

Lovely review! Can't wait to see it.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Great, enjoy!

[@mattjazzfan2288]

Was invited by my platonic female friends to see this at an early screening, and I felt like crawling under my seat every time they said “I must! I must! I must increase my bust!” 😂

[@BreakfastAllDay]

This is a real thing girls did!

[@sonicsnake44]

​@@BreakfastAllDay I didn't know that 😅😅😅.

[@kpaxian6044]

​​@@sonicsnake44ot all girls do this. I never did. I always loved running so I thought being busty would be awful. So some girls don't care at all.

[@alexanderklepp]

Glad to hear you both really loved this film!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Let us know if you see it!

[@OldBluesChapterandVerse]

I’ve never read the book, but from the moment I saw the trailer, I was all in. You can just TELL from the trailer alone: here is a film that gets era and childhood exactly right. When you spoke of its earnestness, Christy, that made me want to see it a thousand times more, as I’m a sucker for earnestness in cinema, and it’s entirely out of fashion today.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Great! Hope you love it too.

[@tonyg76]

Missed my childhood completely. Depends on the childhood I guess.

[@teenindustry]

Also the grandma is exactly how I pictured her

[@BreakfastAllDay]

The legend Kathy Bates! Such impeccable timing.

[@ThatsJustMyBabyDaddy]

Nostalgia is going to take this movie a long way.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

It's legitimately great, though!

[@sonicsnake44]

I never read the book and I really enjoyed this movie.

[@oldschoolabrahamhicks2742]

Oooh this has review has color me intrigued! I remember it being quite a controversial when I was a kid - quite like Judy's books

[@0214Bub]

This is a really good movie with some very unexpected serious parts that I didn't completely see coming. Rachel McAdams in particular does a really good job of capturing that 70s Mom thing. I saw it at a late matinee screening and sadly there were only three people in the theater myself and what appeared to be a mother and daughter. You don't have to be a teenage girl or hung up on 70s nostalgia to enjoy this movie.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

So glad you saw it! Sorry there weren't more people in the theater.

[@tonyg76]

Did not like it. Glad you did.

[@commandZee]

Katie Walsh 👍

[@BreakfastAllDay]

She's awesome!

[@BonzoKilbourn]

Sounds like a good time. Hope it does well, and maybe she can get super powers in the sequel to go fight the reds in the 80s. 🤣🤣🤣

[@BreakfastAllDay]

It's so good.

[@matheuslascasas134]

I’m low key pretty excited for this. Loved Edge of Seventeen!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Wasn't that a great movie?

[@tonyg76]

Edge of Seventeen stunk too imo.

[@aaronnerswick2223]

are you gonna review the covenant? that was very good and one of my favorite Guy Ritchie films.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Not sure, we're still trying to catch up with movies from Alonso working on his book. I've seen it, it's very good and a real departure for Guy Ritchie. Dar Salim is great in it. -- Christy

[@aaronnerswick2223]

@@BreakfastAllDay if i could ask what would be your number you'd give it?

[@brianng8350]

Wow, best movie of the year already? Will probably check it out even if I'm not the target audience...

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Please do!

[@tonyg76]

Definitely won't be best movie of the year. At least I hope not.

[@brianng8350]

@@tonyg76 But why not? I did not want to say anything before watching the movie, but I thought it was a solid charming movie after watching it. It has wonderful humor and drama. It's a coming of age movie - lesson on growing up, picking friends or family drama. Granted, it also talks about girls' puberty period; unless you are an immature teenage boy or under ten, there is something to appreciate from this movie just to understand why girls/women have to go through.

[@tonyg76]

@@brianng8350 Could not relate to much of it. Yes it showed what women go through but I am tired of movies that I can't relate to at the slightest. The picking friends thing I can't relate to because I did not have many/any growing up. The family drama I can I guess relate to but more in a negative way. I did not see the humor for the most part either.

[@brianng8350]

@@tonyg76 I don't know you personally, but based on your standard, I can't like the Godfather because I was never in the mob or kill people? I can't like Saving Private Ryan because I was not alive during World War II? And last year's big movie, Top Gun Maverick is terrible because I will never fly a jet? Can you hear how absurb that standard is in judging movies. Relating to a movie might help you enjoy the movie, but that has nothing to do with craftmanship or whether a movie is good or not. You live in a very narrow and small world if movie has to reflect your life. But your taste and preference is yours. It just sounds sad.

[@maloalaho9294]

It's a terrific movie. It made me laugh, cry, and cringe with all of its relatable, heartfelt moments.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

So glad you saw it and loved it!

[@tonyg76]

Glad you liked it. I did not.

[@screenplaya4562]

Passes note to Christy. It reads, "Do you think I'm cute? Yes or No?" Waits impatiently. :)

[@Artur-Itas]

IT'S A CLUCKIN GOOD TIME!!!!!!! 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@FarhadHaqverdi]

This was namedropped in the first Deadpool movie, do you remember?

[@BreakfastAllDay]

No but that's funny!

[@KnarfStein]

You, BAD, or a combination from the aforementioned, should also review _Polite Society_! I don't really care for very ethnic or Bollywood media, but I took a chance on it after remembering the interview snippets featuring the two female leads placed in the pre-show segments throughout the past several weeks in theatres. And I'm so glad I did, because the aforementioned factors are only minor components of the film. And although totally different in style, I think it and AYTG compose a great block for a social progress thematic event!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Alonso has seen it! Thanks for the suggestion.

[@irishkcguy]

I loved The Edge of Seventeen.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Isn't it great? Glad you saw it.

[@tonyg76]

Bad movie. Could not relate to much of any of it. I am sick of most movies being unrelatable to me. CODA is the only one in awhile I have been able to relate too.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Well one of the main purposes of film is to show us experiences that are different from our own, right? So hopefully you saw something here you'd never seen before. Thanks for watching.

[@KnarfStein]

I watched the film last night and was heartened to see that I was the only male among a dozen or so females. 🫡 Anyway, the film is an absolute delight! It's about finding yourself, developing and refining your ethical framework, and the mental liberation of progressing from a secular upbringing to atheism under the pressure of religious dogmatism. ✌️

[@BreakfastAllDay]

So glad you saw it!