Forever de Judy Blume

Thoroughly watchable documentary of a beloved author. Never met Judy before but I connected to her through her books. Tiger Eyes being my favorite. The documentary was interesting especially when focused on the backlash her books faced in the Regan era. Also interesting to see was the amount of fan mail she received and that she kept the letters! As usual the "gatekeepers" at Prime same as at Netflix, Hulu, etc made sure to insert their plight into the documentary about a 83 year old woman who writes books. A huge turn off for me, but thankfully I was able to fast forward through certain sections. A must watch if you are a Judy Blume fan.

As "Judy Blume Forever" )2023 release; 98 min) opens, today's Judy Blume is reading an excerpt from her 1973 children's book "Deenie", and we see Judy, now 85, running her "Books & Bools" store in Key West. We then go back in time to Judy's upbringing and youth as a Jewish girl, and her keen interest in imagining fictional characters. At this point we are less than 10 minutes into the movie.

Couple of comments: this documentary is co-directed (and co-produced) by Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok. Here they assess the life and times of Judy Blume. It's mostly Blume herself talking into the camera and recalling events (such as when she got her first book published and how it changed her life). There are also various talking heads, of which by far the most interesting ones are the women who wrote to Judy Blume to pour out their hearts and their insecurities all these decades ago, and how it affected them (one of them confesses "it literally saved my life". (We learn that Blume was receiving thousands of letter each month.) But this documentary is unintentionally also a very timely reminder that what we are currently witnessing in this country, where MAGA extremists are calling for book bans (among many other things) and defunding of public libraries, is not new. In fact in the early 80s we saw the same thing (and several of Blume's books were banned). What a sad state of affairs that it seems we didn't learn a thing from those events now 40 years later.

"Judy Blume Forever" premiered at this year's Sundance film festival to immediate critical acclaim. There is good reason why this documentary is currently rated 94% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie started streaming on Amazon Prime this past weekend. I had read a positive review in a recent New York Times, and couldn't wait to see it. If you have any interest in Judy Blume or in freedom of speech, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

As a teen, I read books like "Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret" and "Then Again, Maybe I Won't" and marveled at how matter-of-fact certain subjects not previously discussed in other fictional books I read were explored. I later read the more mature book "Forever..." and thought how author Judy Blume had grown as a writer. I also read another book about her that told how many of those of her novels were banned because of those certain subjects. So I was very interested in this documentary when I discovered it on a recent flight. As her fame grew, Ms. Blume gets interviewed by many of the famous talk show hosts of the time and also appeared in "Crossfire" where she debated with conservative figure Pat Buchanan who she didn't even know about previously. But the most touching parts is when she reads letters from many teen girls including a couple of those young women who wrote to her for years to the point that they both agreed to appear in this film talking of how much of an influence she had on them. Had she not decided to write for a living, Ms. Blume would be just another of those housewives just raising her kids and tending to her hubby when he gets home from work but that wasn't what she was comfortable with, that's for sure! She'd eventually leave her first spouse and after failing with her second, she'd eventually find true happiness with a third one who had a daughter who knew of his new wife's work. Ms. Blume herself had two offspring who eventually grew proud of her work. At 83, she seems happy now living in Key West, FL, running a book store where she proudly has on display inside the sign "We sell banned books" which I'm guessing includes her own! As a astute observer of adolescent life, Judy Blume Forever is aptly named.

I came upon this documentary purely by accident, and I'm so glad I did. Judy Blume and her books are inextricably linked to my childhood and for that I'm so grateful. The first book I read on my own, for pleasure, was Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, in 1978 at 7 years old. For the next couple years I discovered and devoured the rest of her catalog at that time. It didn't matter to me that most of her books centered on girls. I also became a voracious reader because of Judy, and sought out similar books only a few authors were writing, like Norma Klein and Paula Danziger.

Apart from the documentary's particular meaning to me, it's really well done and incredibly informative and entertaining. Judy is so humble, sweet, open, and thoughtful. A genuinely caring soul. There's a treasure trove of photos and clips from past interviews, and commentary from some well-known Judy Blume fans. I got choked up numerous times learning about all the letters she's received over the last 5 decades and the special correspondence she has with some of her (very lucky) fans.

The ridiculous controversy about some of her books (which caused libraries and bookstores to "ban" anything she wrote) that's waxed and waned over the years is also explored, and it's inspiring to learn how Judy has dealt with that blowback and still manages to stay true to herself.

Watching this wonderful doc also sparked some great memories, and I learned so much about the genesis of many of her works. An absolute must for any Judy Blume fan and really for anyone who grew up appreciating young adult books that spoke to them about certain things we all do but receive mixed messages about. Highest recommendation!

Oh man, a little time capsule of greatness. Watch this! The birth of Young Adult fiction, the importance of writing the way things are rather than the way someone tells you they should be - kids loved her so much. A truth teller. So relevant to today also! Now I need to go on a Judy Blume binge!

This documentary tells the arc of Judy Blume's life and writing. Very good.

Reminded me of the first time I read Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret, and I had to go on a deep house dive to find my old copy. I never knew she dabbled in adult fiction, and now I have "Wifey" on my "to read" list because of that.

I also loved the correspondence with her fans through letters. Fun stories.

If you ever read Judy Blume, this is a must watch. If you never read Judy Blume, you also should watch it so you can grasp the historical greatness of this author.