Judy Blume's classic was one of my favorite assigned reads in junior high. My sister probably liked it better still, and my mom has looked forward to seeing the movie. As it stands, I remembered enough to notice a few minor deviations, mostly to save screen time.
Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) is unhappy to move from New York City to New Jersey right before sixth grade begins, partly because it puts distance between her and her favorite grandma (Kathy Bates). In no time, classmate Nancy (Elle Graham) inducts her into a secret club with two other members (Amari Alexis Price and Katherine Kupferer). They mostly talk about matters of puberty, whether bodily changes or a growing interest in boys. Margaret also has a growing interest in religion, having been raised without one by a lapsed Christian mom (Rachel McAdams) and a lapsed Jewish dad (Benny Safdie). But it's hard for her to keep praying civilly when things don't go her way.
Nancy may first come across as an unusually assertive friend, but she's really about sizing up peers and looking for opportunities to express arrogance. I always saw her as a mean girl in training. Sure enough, Margaret realizes the harsh flaws in both Nancy's behavior and her own under Nancy's influence.
For obvious reasons, I couldn't relate well to Margaret on female puberty, but I did grow up with similar parentage. OK, not as extreme: We did celebrate major holidays, and while my Christian grandparents weren't happy about the intermarriage, they didn't disown my mom over it. I certainly was starting to get curious about theism.
Now that I'm older, it strikes me that Margaret takes an immature approach to the subject. She doesn't have the best priorities for her requests of God, often citing specific arrangements rather than, say, serenity. She lacks perspective on how small her problems truly are. None of this should surprise me, given her age.
Another difference that came with my adulthood is feeling a little disturbed to be watching preteen girls obsess over bras and whatnot. The rating is PG-13, so we don't see anything terribly saucy, but if I had been present in RL, I'd worry about someone calling the police on me.
When I read the book, I didn't think of it as taking place in the past. On screen, we get plenty of signs that it's set in the year of publication, 1970, albeit with no racial tension in evidence. I like the score at least, but the other trappings have a way of making things seem a bit less authentic to me. And maybe more comedic.
The book features first-person narration throughout. In the movie, the closest we get are Margaret's casual prayers and a letter to her teacher (Echo Kellum). There are even a few scenes without her in the picture, focusing on her mom or grandma.
That last change may not be for the better. The main weakness I detect is that the 106 minutes are longer than necessary. It's not boring, but I kept seeing details the filmmakers could have shaved off with no loss to viewers' emotions or comprehension.
AYTGIMM may not elevate anything from the source material, but neither does it suffer significantly in adaptation. Feel free to watch if only to save time on (re-)reading.
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