Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 8, 2023

There are any number of refreshing things about Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, * and one of them occurs before the film even starts, namely the memorable Gracie Films masthead that may serve as logo comfort food (if such a thing exists) for anyone who has loved any of the superb productions that James L. Brooks has brought to both the large and small screens over many, many decades. Some may feel, as I did upon seeing it, that at least in terms of big screen offerings, it's been too long. But then the actual film starts, and a variety of breaths of fresh air suffuse the environment, including a story featuring a relatively intact and, wait for it, happy family unit that includes a very smart daughter named Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson). Margaret bucks certain seemingly eternal teenage trends of withering disdain about life in general by engaging in "up close and personal" conversations with her Creator (as in that "sky personage" in the film's title, not her biological parents, though she certainly has conversations with them as well). This sweet and emotionally satisfying film is of course based on the beloved novel by Judy Blume, which might have been tagged with that now omnipresent "YA" category had that been in the common vernacular back in 1970 when the book was released. Blume is on record (and is rather present in some of the supplements on this disc as well) stating that Margaret is at least in some ways her attempt at an autobiographical character, and that she (Judy), like Margaret, often reached out to have a chat with her Creator. Despite me hardly being in anything near a YA demographic, and not sharing a gender with its focal character, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret really connected with me on any number of levels, which may augur well for the film's home theater release, since, despite pretty rapturous reviews, it didn't exactly set the box office on fire during its theatrical exhibition, but may now find a wider appreciative audience who will have a similarly positive reaction.

*Yes, you strict orthographers, the title of this film ends with a period, but including it as part of a sentence which continues just bugged me, so I omitted it.

The film's fun soundtrack was just one of many tethers I felt to this film, with an opening tune done by a band that is still a legend in my hometown of Portland, Oregon, Paul Revere & The Raiders (I'll be a pedant and mention that the song utilized actually came out in 1971, but the film is set in 1970). But that's obviously a subliminal aspect, and the film's rather smart depiction of a so-called interfaith marriage hit very close to home for me personally, as I am the offspring of just such a union, and I'm also a guy who was growing up at more or less the same time Margaret was, when marriages between Jews and Christians were still at least somewhat outside of the norm and tended to be looked at askance by both the general public and (at least in my family) by relatives wondering why anyone would want to marry outside of their own religion. The subtext in Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret is that neither Margaret's mother Barbara (Rachel McAdams) nor her father Herb (Benny Safdie) are really interested in indoctrinating their daughter in any religion, which makes Margaret's discussions with God all the more remarkable.

This is at its core nothing "deeper" than a coming of age story for Margaret, as her father's promotion necessitates a relatively small but still epochal move from New York City to the "wilds" of suburban New Jersey. This was another connection for me personally, as my own Dad was transferred quite a bit further than Herb was when I was just about the same age as Margaret and it was a very traumatic experience for me, since I had lived my whole life in one location up until then. Margaret, an artistic, emotional soul, is obviously distraught that she's going to need to "start over", and the film is indeed a charting of that very course, as she matriculates into her new environment, all while facing the onslaught of puberty and everything that that entails. This film has what some of the talking heads in some of the supplements think of as an almost "trangressive" element in rather sweet depictions of some of the trials that young girls in particular face, like their first experience with sanitary napkins.

Yes, there are some occasionally semi-roiling dysfunctions involving the Simon family and Herb's mother Sylvia (Kathy Bates), but the real dramatics kick in when Barbara invites her long estranged parents Paul (Gary Houston) and Mary (Mia Dillon) to visit, which brings certain simmering "interfaith issues" to a boil. But what's so, well, refreshing about Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret is how the film shows that loving family units can elide even the most potentially awkward moments simply by sticking together. Performances are heartfelt, funny and inerrantly intelligent throughout the film. Margaret's cohort of pubescent girls provides a number of great character bits, and Elle Graham as uppity neighbor Nancy Wheeler ("we live in the much larger house up the street") is especially wonderful. McAdams, Safdie and Bates are all excellent as well, but the film belongs squarely to a superb Abby Ryder Fortson. I fear that even given this film's imprimatur of literary renown its lack of box office appeal may doom it when next year's Academy Award nominations are handed out, but Fortson would be a lock if I were a voting member.

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The IMDb lists the Sony CineAlta and a 4K DI as the relevant data points. One of this film's most appealing elements is its picture perfect recreation of the seventies, and this transfer preserves near impeccable fine detail on the variety of patterns, fabrics and textures that are offered throughout the story. Things can be occasionally graded just slightly coolly, with a very subtle but noticeable blue-green undertone, as can perhaps even be made out in some of the screenshots accompanying this review, but the palette is still very nicely suffused and vibrant. This is another Lionsgate release where their masthead exhibits noticeable banding but there are no problems with the actual feature presentation.

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Perhaps surprisingly given its relatively intimate demeanor, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret features a Dolby Atmos track that probably attains it most notable engagement of the Atmos speakers during some of the fun source cues. The track is immersive throughout, in both interior and exterior sequences, but it's obviously not going to be the kind of sonic onslaught that can be a featured element in more (literally?) over the top Atmos tracks. Fidelity is excellent throughout, and there no problems with distortion or other issues. Dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly. Optional French, English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Finally That Time: Making Margaret (HD; 19:55) is a nice EPK with some fun interviews with the principal cast and crew.


• Are You There Margaret? It's Me, Judy (HD; 8:00) is a sweet sit down with Judy Blume.


• The Secret Crew Club: Margaret and Friends (HD; 7:58) features the wonderful young girls in the cast.


• Bringing the Period to Life: Designing Margaret (HD; 10:07) focuses on the film's really appealing retro production design.


• Deleted Scenes (HD; 1:35)


• Roundtable Discussion (HD; 6:12) features Judy Blume, James L. Brooks, Abby Ryder Forston, Kelly Fremon Craig, Rachel McAdams and Julie Ansell.

Additionally DVD and digital copies are included. Packaging features a slipcover.

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One of the kind of unspoken truths of this tale is that it wasn't until right around 1970, and actually just a bit later, that folks like Margaret and me, whom I joking refer to as "dreaded patrilineals" (i.e., a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother), were even accepted as Jews by many Jewish people, something that I can tell you from personal experience can lead to feelings of being an "outsider", which Margaret is obviously experiencing in droves anyway. But here's the thing about this really sweet film: my "connections" to it may not resonate at all with some readers, but I can virtually guarantee those readers will find their own connections to this story, whether or not they're female, half Jewish or a Baby Boomer. Technical merits are first rate and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret definitely comes Highly recommended.