JUDY BLUME FOREVER – A Review by Jenn Rohm
History repeats itself is a phrase I have often heard and currently feel like I am living with conversations of banning books being the hot topic it is. One author whose name comes up time and again is Judy Blume, known for writing books with frank and accurate information on topics that interest pre-teens and teens.
Directors Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok give us access to the woman herself. With a mixture of Judy telling her story, photos from her life, clips from interviews, letters from readers (now in the Harvard Library), and people speaking about their “Judy” memories we learn more behind the stories.
With a life like most of the other women around her, Judy went to college found a man, and was married. She stayed home and had two children. Yet something was missing, so she began to write. Getting published is not easy and we start to see her inner strength while we follow her journey.
As her books are growing in number and popularity, those reading them start to reach out to Judy directly via written letters. We are shown some of the letters and some of the writers of those letters get to tell why they wrote to Judy. We are seeing the heart of the woman who wrote books, so children do not feel alone.
This documentary has me making plans on which books to buy (again) or check out from my local library and work my way through them all. Of course, if I can get to Key West, I will go to the bookstore she and her husband own, which proudly sells banned books, and maybe be lucky enough to buy one from her in person.
Director: Davina Pardo, Leah Wolchok
Cast: Judy Blume, Molly Ringwald, Samantha Bee
Certificate: 16+
Genres: Documentary, Biography
Selig Rating: 4 Stars
Runtime: 1hr 37 min
Release Date: 04/21/2023
Channel: Amazon Prime
Trailer: Judy Blume Forever official trailer
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well there was nothing else …
1 Star – Total waste of time.
