“Judy Blume Forever” (2023) is a biographical documentary about the titular author behind the recent film adapted novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” (2023) and many other classic children and young adult novels. The “Forever” part of the title refers to one of her most controversial books because teen characters had sex without it destroying their lives. The documentary is also about the impact that the author and her books had on her young readers, who adored her work for speaking to the reality of their lives.
I read Judy Blume’s books as a kid, and I do not remember many details so even though I share the same admiration for the author and her books, when the film referencespage seventy-five of the aforementioned novel, even though it is soon explained, it does feel as if “Judy Blume Forever” is geared for ardent fans, not casual readers or newcomers, who may find themselves unprepared for such in depth analysis and fervor. It was hard to write about this film because I could not think of it in an analytical way. I was not too into the documentary’s format, and I did not relate to the predominant attraction to Blume’s books. I felt as if I had an entirely different experience, so it made it harder for me to enjoy the film without puzzling over what my forgotten initial impressions were. While I remember a vibe of getting a peak into topics normally hidden from children, sex felt like a fraction of the overall content.
The home viewing model of Prime Video helped in a way that a theater experience would not because a viewer can build in breaks as needed then dive back in refocused.
“Judy Blume Forever” is more vibrant and colorful than most documentaries. Blume lives up to the sound of her name as the main character in the documentary, and she wears colorful glasses and stylish outfits. As the film shows montages of Blume at different stages in her life appearing on talk shows, news broadcasts and photographs, it is striking how she is essentially the same youthful effervescent, smiling person only becoming more distinct and herself with time. At the time of filming, Blume is eighty-three years old, and my mom, a well preserved black woman, is put to shame by this author biking around Key West, the location of her current home and bookstore.
When Blume reads passages from her book, Angelique Georges animates Andrew Griffin and Martin O’Neill’s collage of cutout images to help viewers visualize the characters’ emotions, Directors Davina Pardo in her feature debut and Leah Wolchok in her second tell Blume’s story in chronological order. I was not as interested in the visual style of the “Judy Blume Forever” as the substance. I preferred when Blume talked about her life over listening to famous figures confiding their reactions to Blume’s books as kids.
Blume’s life story is an emblematic microcosm of the era. The influence of World War II is unexpected as Blume confesses that it instilled a seed of doubt about adults’ reassurances that she was safe even though she was a little Jewish girl at the time. Living through the fifties, Blume does not disguise her annoyance at the superficial pretense of the era. It explains why Blume is so forthright to her readers and demystifies topics still considered taboo for children: physical education, sex, bullying, religion, death, being disabled, etc. She admits that her real life was that of a suburban mom and wife, not protesting in the street. “I could be fearless in my writing in a way that I wasn’t in my life.” She must have been somewhat fearless because unlike many of her contemporaries, she kept her childhood friendships through every stage of her life up to now.
When Blume described her adult life as pretending to be a grown-up, that insight made me wonder if she was neurodivergent, not living life, but playing an expected role. Blume describes her writing as the way that she survived through hard times, including the death of her father. Blume confides, “Through all the worst times of my life, I’ve been able to write, and writing had gotten me through.” People’s initial reaction to her career ambition exhibits the range of attitudes towards women with careers.
First people treat it like a hobby. When she is persistent, others act as if she was not a good writer. Once she started writing from the “inside,” i.e., writing rooted in her childhood memories. Once she succeeded at publishing, the goal post moved—write “a real book,” i.e not for kids. Not in response to the shifting goal post, but a kind of broadcast delay, once time had passed and she processed certain adult experiences, Blume did. Her real life and professional critics were outraged that she changed her subject matter. It is an encouraging account for any wannabe women authors.
I did not know that Blume wrote back to children fans who wrote to her. Gen X may not have had stellar parenting, but we had top notch parasocial relationships. “Judy Blume Forever” locates and interviews Blume’s now adult pen pals. The scores of adult fans serve two purposes. First, it makes the response to Blume’s books less abstract. Second, it disproves the hysterical, timeless opposition, the people who want to ban her books (and dictionaries). Blume describes how soon after Reagan was elected, a cultural war erupted, which she did not know how to navigate and attempted to debate Pat Buchanan. She lives in Florida and does not explicitly comment on Florida Governor Desantis’ attacks on the public education and Disney. The 80’s were cool, but not soup to nuts cool. Blume is prepared the second time around by being a member of the National Coalition Against Censorship. Also she owns a bookstore, which should keep banned books in circulation. In an archived interview, Blume explains, “A book can never harm a child.” For the documentary, she recites the dictionary definition of a certain expletive that rhymes with duck, “a meaningless word intensifier.” Preach!
Blume’s children are also testaments to the positive effect of Blume and her books. Her daughter, Randy, was a beta reader, and her son, Larry, inspired Fudge and encouraged her to write “Forever.” They had a very different relationship with their mother than Blume did with her mother, who typed her books, but never discussed or critiqued them. Their father, John, a lawyer (WHAT WAS HIS PRACTICE!?!?) makes occasional photographic appearances but seems to be in the margins of the family and Blume’s life. He seems to be characteristic of the men of that day—reducing his wife to a supporting character, but have no fear! Blume eventually finds Mr. Right, a man whom she did not date exclusively post-divorce. He plays his cards right and instead of complaining or demanding commitment, he just waited until the other date was over.
Unsurprisingly once Blume’s personal life worked, she is not writing anymore and just wants to live. She worked it out. She is honest about the bumps along the way.
“Judy Blume Forever” can appeal to viewers attracted to film for different reasons, but it requires patience for those with weaker memories of their childhood.