50 | APRIL 20 • 2023 

BLUME-MANIA AND DEAD 
RINGERS, REDUX

On April 21, Amazon 
Prime begins streaming 
Judy Blume Forever, a 
documentary about Judy 
Blume, 84. She’s the author 
of many best-selling novels 
for “tweens” and young 
adult audiences — and a few 
big-selling novels for adults. 
The respected Hollywood 
Reporter gave the “doc” a 
rave review, noting: “[The 
film] looks at the legacy of 
the pioneering young adult 
fiction writer at a time when 
many of the issues she 
confronted — book banning, 
abortion, antisemitism — are 
still shockingly topical.”
On April 28, the film Are 
You There God? It’s Me, 
Margaret, opens in theaters. 
It is based on a Blume 
novel of the same name. 
For decades, Blume turned 
down offers to make It’s 
Me, Margaret into a movie. 
Blume now says that “the 
[new] film is better than my 
novel.”

 Margaret is a 12-year-
old girl who is trying to 
cope with puberty. She’s 
also trying to find out what 
religious belief is “right.” 
Her mother isn’t Jewish, 
and her father is Jewish 
and she’s been raised 
secular. Benjamin Safdie, 

37, plays Margaret’s father. 
Antisemitism figures in the 
plot. 
The documentary and It’s 
Me, Margaret are very much 
related and their premieres 
are obviously coordinated. 
They are the first two 
“things” in what I’ve come 
to think of as the “Blume 
Wave.” 
Judy Blume was born 
Judy Sussman, the daughter 
of an Elizabeth, New Jersey, 
Jewish dentist and his 
Jewish wife, a homemaker. 
Blume says her parents 
were not very religious. 
They were, she says, more 
relaxed about talking about 
sex than most parents. 
Like many Jewish women 
of the “Silent Generation,” 
Blume was well-educated 
(NYU-grad, 1960) but chose 
to marry (1959) her college 
sweetheart (John Blume, 
a lawyer) and become a 
homemaker. Her daughter, 
Randy, was born in 1961, and 
her son, Lawrence, was born 
in 1963. 
Randy is a therapist and 
Lawrence is a writer, director 
and film producer. Both 
are interviewed in the new 
documentary. 
Blume’s first work was 
published in 1969. Her 
breakthrough novel was 
Are You There God? It’s Me, 
Margaret (1970). To date, her 
novels have sold more than 
90 million copies. 
Her readers cite “honesty” 
first as the reason they buy 
her books. Blume honestly, 
realistically and sensitively 
covered subjects in her 
novels that tweens and 
young adults were/are 
especially interested in — 
like sex, puberty, abortion 
and “real-life” romance. 
Big book sales led 
producers to constantly 
ask Blume for filming rights. 
For the same reason, 

documentary makers wanted 
to talk to Blume. Blume said 
“no” to a documentary, and 
she allowed only two films 
to be made from her novels 
— a TV movie in 1978 and a 
small-budget indie in 2012 
(directed by her son).

 The Hollywood Reporter 
says that Blume now thinks 
it’s time to “open up.” She’s 
agreed to work with Mark 
Oppenheimer, 49, on a 
book-length biography 
about her. He formerly 
was the writer of the NY 
Times ”Beliefs” column, and 
his most recent book is 
about the Tree of Life 
(Pittsburgh) synagogue 
murders. On his website, 
he proudly notes that he’s a 
challah baker. 
Also in the works is a 
Netflix series loosely based 
on Blume’s 1975 novel 
Forever and, after three 
years of pleading, Blume 
agreed to be the subject 
of Judy Blume Forever. 
The “pleaders” were 
documentary co-directors 
Davina Pardo and Leah 
Wolchok, 45. 
Pardo and Wolchok 
previously helmed 
Very Semi-Serious, an 
entertaining 2015 film about 
New Yorker magazine 
cartoonists. Wolchok, alone, 
made the short film Kosher 
Cop (2004). It’s about 
the hectic life of a (real) 
Berkeley, California, rabbi 
who “kosherizes” restaurant 

ovens with a blow torch 
(really). 
The original Amazon 
Prime series Dead Ringers 
premieres on April 21. 
This eight-episode series 
is based on the 1988 film 
of the same name. The 
1988 film was directed by 
and co-written by David 
Cronenberg, now 80. In the 
film, Jeremy Irons played 
identical twin brothers who 
are both gynecologists. 
The film and the new 
series are described as a 
“psychological thriller.” 
In the Amazon series, 
Rachel Weisz, 52, plays 
the dual role that Irons 
played. As in the 1988 film, 
the twins share everything 
from drugs to lovers. The 
(female) pair are passionate 
about challenging outdated 
gynecology practices, even 
if they push the boundaries 
of medical ethics. 
Jeremy Shamos, 53, has 
a big recurring role. He’s a 
respected character actor 
who had supporting roles in 
Better Call Saul and Nurse 
Jackie. 
He co-starred as Amy 
Schumer’s husband in 
Meteor Shower, a 2017 
Broadway play. This “big-
time” role led the JTA to 
profile Shamos, who told 
the JTA that he had had a 
bar mitzvah ceremony and 
celebrates major Jewish 
holidays with his wife, 
actress Nina Hellman, 52. 

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

CARL LENDER/WIKIPEDIA

Judy Blume

UNORTHODOX PODCAST

Mark Oppenheimer

MONTCLAIR FILM/WIKIPEDIA 

Rachel Weisz

