Filmed in the Charlotte area, ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’ getting rave reviews

The beloved and often banned Judy Blume book “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” that was filmed in the Charlotte region officially opens in theaters Friday, and it’s already getting rave reviews.

Entertainment Weekly calls it “an endearing portrait of girlhood — an adaptation that’s well worth the wait.”

“It’s one of the best films of the year,” film critic Brian Orndorf said on “Rotten Tomatoes.”

The move received “universal acclaim” by 15 movie critics reviews, according to Metacritic, an aggregate of reviews of films, television shows, music albums and video games.

The iconic 1970 coming-of-age book is about sixth-grader Margaret navigating puberty and trying to fit in with new friends in a new town. The book often lands on school district’s banned lists throughout the U.S. It confronts adolescent topics like menstruation, sexuality and religion.

“Margaret’s story remains timeless — and timely,” Entertainment Weekly reviewer Devan Coggan said.

And the Washington Post said that Blume’s classic “gets the film version it deserves.”

“Whether you’re coping with hot flashes, acne or both — come on, Mother Nature, not cool! — “Margaret” reminds us that this too shall pass, and that we are not alone,” Kristen Page-Kirby said in The Washington Post review.

Charlotte-area backdrops in ‘Margaret’ film

It’s the first time Blume consented to adapt one of her books to film.

“Judy Blume waited more than 50 years before finding the right director to bring it to life. And with a cast that makes this film refreshingly human without being sappy. It’s a very lovingly candid adaptation that has definitely stood the test of time,” Rotten Tomatoes film critics Al and Linda Lerner said.

Blume’s New Jersey setting was actually filmed in the Charlotte area, including downtown Monroe, downtown Concord and south Charlotte. Filming rolled in Cabarrus, Gaston, Mecklenburg and Union counties for several months in the spring and summer of 2021.

Filming brought a star-studded cast to the Charlotte region: Oscar nominee Rachel McAdams, who plays Margaret’s mom; Oscar winner Kathy Bates, who plays Margaret’s grandmother; and Abby Ryder Fortson, who plays Margaret Simon.

The Lionsgate Studio project for Blume’s book was approved for a grant up to $7 million, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.

The program rebate’s a production’s direct in-state spend on qualifying expenses within North Carolina at 25%, which means the production would have to spend at least $28 million to get the maximum payout, Guy Gaster, director of North Carolina Film Office said.

A project of this scale would typically have a crew of 150 to 200 film professionals, and several hundred extras.

Gaster said the production has not finished its audit so any numbers for “Margaret” are estimates.

“It was an honor to have the production choose North Carolina to help portray New York City and its neighboring New Jersey suburbs as well as to have so many North Carolinians help bring this project from the page to the screen,” he said.

‘Uptick in filming’ in NC

The movie was part of a record-breaking year in 2021 when North Carolina saw its highest direct in-state spending total of $416 million since the state started offering incentives to help recruit productions, Gaster said

Lionsgate is the same studio that chose North Carolina, including the greater Charlotte area, for filming “The Hunger Games,” Gaster said, and Bates also was in the 2014 movie “Tammy” filmed in Wilmington.

She is currently back in North Carolina filming an independent feature, “Summer Camp” in Hendersonville and Asheville areas, he said.

“The state, and the Charlotte area, continue to see an uptick in interest in filming,” Gaster said, crediting the state’s talent, infrastructure and the bipartisan support for the N.C. Film & Entertainment Grant.

Local scenes to look for

Here are just some of the places Charlotte-area residents might see in the movie:

▪ The Simon family’s mid-century modern home was in the Foxcroft neighborhood, Southern Living reported.

▪ McCelvey Center in York, South Carolina, was where Margaret went to school, CN2 reported.

▪ Downtown views of Monroe and Concord.

Also be on the lookout for Mount Pleasant’s Moose Pharmacy, Matthews Community Center, Hickory Regional Airport, Kannapolis What-A-Burger, Belk Theater and RiRa’s Irish Pub, as well as several Charlotte neighborhoods and area churches, Gaster said.

What to know

“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” is:

▪ Rated PG-13

▪ 1 hour, 45 minutes long

▪ a comedy/drama

▪ directed by: Kelly Fremon Craig, 42, who also wrote and directed the 2016 coming-of-age dramedy “The Edge of Seventeen.”

▪ Some Charlotte area theaters like AMC, Carolina Mall Cinema, Cinemark and Regal have show times listed starting Thursday. Other movie theaters, including Cinergy Dine-In Cinemas and Stone Theatres showings start Friday. As of Wednesday, AMC theaters, like Regal Stonecrest in Charlotte, show some movie times are already sold out or nearly full.

For more, visit itsmemargaret.movie.