It all takes a certain approval from author Judy Blume to make Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, one of the best coming-of-age films of 2023.

Director Kelly Fremon Craig adapted Blume’s novel to the screen and she was certainly surprised with the author’s permission. The film captured the heart and soul of the story, expanded the adult characters, and even Blume corrected Fremon on the breast augmentation chant sequence.

The cast includes Rachel McAdams, Abby Ryder Fortson, Elle Graham, Benny Safdie, Echo Kellum, and Kathy Bates.

Here is the full synopsis:

For over fifty years, Judy Blume’s classic and groundbreaking novel Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret has impacted generations with its timeless coming-of-age story, insightful humor, and candid exploration of life’s biggest questions. In Lionsgate’s big-screen adaptation, 11-year-old Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) 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 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.

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LRM Online’s Gig Patta chatted with director/writer Kelly Fremon Craig on the film’s genesis, Judy Blume’s involvement, expanding the story, and its effect on the generations.

Kelly Fremon Craig made her director debut with The Edge of Seventeen, which starred Hailee Steinfeld, Haley Lu Richardson, Blake Jenner, Kyra Sedwick, and Woody Harrelson. In 2009, she wrote the screenplay for Post Grad that starred Alexis Bledel, Michael Keaton, and Carol Burnett.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is now out everywhere.

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Source: LRM Online Exclusive, Lionsgate