‘Judy Blume Forever’: Sundance Review

Dirs: Davina Pardo & Leah Wolchok. US. 2023. 98mins

As suggested by its emphatic title, Judy Blume Forever is an exuberant salute to the 84-year-old American novelist, whose honest and empathetic depiction of young adults endeared her to legions of adolescent readers. Featuring extensive interviews with Blume, the documentary highlights how groundbreaking it was for her to write about sex, femininity and bullying, rejecting the popular notion that children should only be given sanitised stories with tidy messages. Directors Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok have concocted a breezy, emotional film set to go out on Prime Video this April 21 that’s both nostalgic and timely, carving out space to condemn the conservative forces in the United States that still try to ban books like Blume’s.

What also helps make the documentary so winning is that Blume is such fun company

This could be a big year for Blume, whose acclaimed 1970 novel ’Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’ has been adapted into a film starring Rachel McAdams. Judy Blume Forever should strike a similar chord to that of the Fred Rogers portrait Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, another documentary about a beloved figure. Here, an array of novelists, sex educators and comedians are on hand to talk about Blume’s impact, allowing the film to be informational and entertaining.

A cheerful tour guide, Blume looks straight into the camera as she reads from her books, reflects on her life and recalls the highs and lows of being a popular (and sometimes controversial) author. Dotted with animated interludes, Judy Blume Forever illustrates how she sought to tell realistic, nonjudgmental stories and speak frankly about taboo topics such as menstruation and masturbation, her nerviness attuned to the women’s liberation movement of the 1970s. But the theme of female empowerment endemic in Blume’s books was a fraught subject in her personal life, as she felt stifled in an unfulfilling marriage and convinced she’d never find true love – her current third marriage is a happy one. 

Judy Blume Forever boasts a lively score — as well as impassioned testimonials from famous admirers, such as Lena Dunham — and proves to be an enjoyable, highly polished production that offers a compelling overview of Blume’s literary achievements and lasting legacy. Without straining for significance, Pardo and Wolchok (who previously collaborated on the ’New Yorker’ cartoon documentary Very Semi-Serious) make the case that Blume was a trailblazer who helped women recognise that their sexual desires were valid. Blume also wrote books about boys but, no matter the gender of her characters, novels like ’Blubber’ and ’Then Again, Maybe I Won’t’ spoke to youngsters who appreciated the sensitivity she displayed toward her messy, relatable protagonists. 

What also helps make the documentary so winning is that Blume is such fun company. Whether in the sit-down interviews or during verite segments chronicling her day-to-day experiences, Judy Blume Forever argues that she was hardly some radical firebrand but, rather, a sensible mother and wife with a deep understanding of adolescents’ anxieties. Blume comes across as a warm, generous spirit — never more so than when we hear from a few readers who have been corresponding with her since they were kids, so touched by her books that they became lifelong penpals with the bestselling author.

The film gracefully touches on Blume’s troubles during the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan’s presidential election signalled a conservative revolution that found her books being banned across America – much to her annoyance. The filmmakers cannily connect the ‘80s to the present, when right-wing opposition to LGBTQ+ authors continues a shameful tradition of censoring material that dares to oppose an old-fashioned, patriarchal view of “appropriate” art. Years after first being published, Blume’s books can still inspire the ire of those who want to discourage children from seeking answers about themselves; she remains a proactive role model to emerging storytellers who similarly want to knock down barriers.