As an atheist, and a 40-year-old guy, I immediately dismissed Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret for multiple reasons. My mistake. An enjoyable, heartwarming coming-of-age movie about a sixth-grade girl navigating puberty, her sexuality, and religion (her dad is Jewish, her mom is Christian, she’s been raised religion-neutral, and her grandparents are all devout), Are You There God? is a movie I will absolutely show to my daughter when she becomes a preteen.

From writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig, who made the absolutely excellent The Edge of Seventeen, this one cements her cred of being able to tap into teenage angst. Are You There God?, based on a novel by storied author Judy Blume, is quite different, but it presents its title character as a realistic, believable young girl who is navigating issues that are as modern today as when the novel was released in 1970.

The movie also thrives thanks to the incredible performance by Abby Ryder Fortson, whose wide-eyed sincerity rings through every scene. Rachel McAdams is also terrific as her mother.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret isn’t the funniest movie. It isn’t the most dramatic. It isn’t the most powerful. And yet the movie simply works, and works extremely well. Recommended.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.