Because the movie gods love me, I had the opportunity to watch not one, but two Judy Blume films in the same week way back at the end of April/beginning of May: Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret based on the book of the same name and Judy Blume Forever, a documentary about the living queen emoji.

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Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret

This movie is actually perfect. Judy Blume is a goddess amongst writers, which we all knew already, but the way she just zeroes in on the actual things that bothers kids/teens is just perfection. This movie captures all of the everything of the book, so props to the director and cast/crew for that.

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Judy Blume Forever (Amazon Prime)

Is “Judy Blume Forever” a good title? Yes.

Would “Judy Blume Forever…” have been a better title? Also, yes.

Would “Here’s to You, Judy Blume” have been the best title? Definitely yes. (Although I realize that may be a touch ironic given the nature of the title’s origin, but still. Tell me I’m wrong.)

Watching this was very empowering and I may or may not have gotten a little choked up about three minutes in. Judy Blume is the actual best, and her advocacy for children and girls and against censorship is so commendable that I’m glad it’s spotlighted here. However, there is something about this doc that made it good instead of great, and it’s not just because they didn’t feature all of the authors I would have liked. Obviously if you are at all interested in Judy Blume (which should be everyone, simply for her impact on children’s and young adult literature), you should watch this, but I am not so certain that people who don’t already love JB would find it particularly impactful or engaging beyond a getting to know you doc.

Am I alone in this or did anyone else find the documentary lacking…something?