December 2, 2023 – I skipped this movie when it was showing at the local theater because it is in the dreaded coming-of-age genre. When I finally saw it on a streaming service (Starz) I quickly realized I should have gone to see it. There is some drama in it as well, but by and large, it is a comedy, and a very funny one at that. It is based on a book of the same name, written by Judy Blum in 1970.

The central character, Margaret (played by Abby Ryder Fortson of “Ant-Man and the Wasp”) is a 12-year-old girl who is going through a lot of changes in her life and is trying to find her place in the world. Her family moves from New York City to New Jersey, and she has to find new friends and adjust to a new school.

Her overly dramatic Jewish grandmother, Sylvia Simon (played by Kathy Bates of “Tammy”) proclaims she will never see Margaret again, but of course she does, since Margaret is not far away in New Jersey. Margaret asks God to stop the move to New Jersey, but the move turns out not to be the disaster she and grandma Sylvia thought it would be.

A neighbor girl, Nancy Wheeler (Elle Graham of “She Said”) quickly arrives at Margaret's door and invites her to join her secret club, comprised of Nancy, Gretchen Potter (Katherine Mallen Kupferer) and Janie Loomis (Amari Alexis Price). The four girls meet regularly to share their likes and dislikes, their crushes and other secrets. Nancy is the bossy leader of the group and makes most of the rules.

Margaret is curious about religion and decides to explore her options. Her father, Herb (Benny Safdie of “Oppenheimer”) is Jewish, while her mother, Barbara (Rachel McAdams of “Doctor Strange”) is a Christian, but neither of Margaret's parents are actively participating in their respective religions.

Encouraged by her teacher, Mr. Benedict (Echo Kellum of “Dealing with Dad”) Margaret takes on a school project to write about religion. She attends various Christian services and goes to Temple with her grandmother, unbeknownst to her parents. She questions her mother about her religion, which brings up some old feelings.

Crying, Barbara tells Margaret that her parents, who are devoted Christians, disowned her because she married a Jew. What really causes trouble, however, is an unexpected visit from Sylvia at the same time as a visit from Barbara's parents. A large family dinner soon turns into a disaster, where Margaret is forced to take on the role of the adult.

Margaret decides to go her own way after her exploration of religions. She turns in her paper and starts making new friends. This is a story about a person who is looking at religion as an outsider, free from intense religious indoctrination. That is a perspective seldom seen in movies. I think a lot of kids would make the same choice as Margaret, if they had the choice.

It is also a movie about a young girl who learns about the evils of gossip, and who finds out who her true friends are. She also learns about manipulative people and about the things that divide people and pit them against each other. At the same time, this is a very funny movie, and all the comedy is character-driven.

Writer-Director Kelly Fremon Craig (“The Edge of Seventeen”) and the cast all do a fine job of bringing this compelling story to the screen. It is certainly a movie whose time has come. This movie rates an A.

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