Judy Blume Forever Movie Review

I read Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” several times and passed it on to my daughter, making her read it, which she happily did, also more than once. This will go on forever, mothers making sure their children read one of the best YA (young adult literature) writers who ever lived. Just think of her achievements!

Youngsters, since she started writing in the late 1960s, read as many of her books as they could get their hands on and passed them on to friends and family and it’s still going on today in 2023. That blows my mind and, most likely, yours. That is unless you’re one of the rare people, like my husband, who had not only never read one of her books but had never heard of Judy Blume! I wish I could go back to his school and speak to some teachers and librarians, that’s for sure!!

Anyway, What Margaret did for young girls was help them understand what was going on with our bodies and why. And with her characters, she helped teens who still looked like little girls grasp the term “late bloomer.” The writing was magnificent. She was read by both girls and boys with other stories such as Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, the Fudge Series, and Then Again, Maybe I Won’t.

Within the books, children of all ages were taught about family, friendships, their minds, their bodies, masturbation, and sex. The movie touches upon as many of her books as possible and the painful relationships in her life. There was also a time, back in the 1980s, when she was censored. Of course, that meant that more kids got a hold of her books, sharing them secretly with one another to read what was so dreadful that teachers and politicians wanted to keep it from them.

This documentary explores how deeply she affected our lives and how her family and what she did for a living affected hers. It was somewhat emotional when she spoke of her father. Outside of war bringing them to America, it goes into how males in her father’s family didn’t live beyond the age of sixty. He lived like he wouldn’t either… and he didn’t.

She married, gave her husband two children, a girl and a boy, and then started writing. Her loss was difficult, but the writing was a way to move on past the grief. She wrote what she knew; children with needs. The voice she used in her books was unlike anyone else’s. She spoke, giving the children in her stories a magical vocabulary and vernacular. She had a beautiful gift and her work was such a joy to read.

Judy Blume had a few divorces. Through a friend, she was introduced to George Cooper. Cooper has a daughter from a previous marriage, who Judy is close to. They have a happy family, which isn’t hard to believe because, at one point during the documentary, you see Judy get into a box of letters and pull something out. They’re letters from children who have been writing to her about how much they love her and her books, asking for advice or telling her about their life. Some of those letters continue through to today. They became friendships of sorts.

I’m amazed by this woman. When she knew it was time, she wrote four books for her older fans, books that could be therapeutic for her and those who read them. They’re titled Wifey, Smart Women, Summer Sisters and In the Unlikely Event.

This is a must-see documentary, but I must warn you of a frightening and heartbreaking thought: Judy Blume has moved to Florida. When older people make that move, it’s usually because they’ve totally retired. I hope in this case, that’s not the case. I don’t think it is. She bought herself a cute little bookstore. She’s in her store a lot and is surrounded by books, talking about books… surely another story will come to mind. I’m crossing my fingers.