User:ChessPiece21/sandbox/Music

Music is a 2021 American musical drama film directed by singer-songwriter Sia. The film was co-written by Sia and Dallas Clayton, and stars Kate Hudson, Leslie Odom Jr and Maddie Ziegler. Originally conceived in 2015 as a non-musical film, the film was subsequently re-conceived as a musical with a larger budget. The film was released on January 14, 2021 in Australia and February 12, 2021 in the United States. The film was panned by critics and bombed at the box office.

Plot
The film follows Zu Gamble (Kate Hudson), a former drug dealer who becomes the Guardian of her autistic younger sister Music (Maddie Ziegler). Zu soon meets Ebo Odom (Leslie Odom Jr), a boxer who teaches her how to care for Music. Throughout the film, musical dance sequences take place inside Music's mind, showing how she views the world.

Why it Sucks

 * 1) To get the elephant out of the room, the film's depiction of autism is exaggerated to the point of being stereotypical, with Music's tantrums, love of routine, and fixation on certain things not being representative of the entire autistic population. This is also not helped by the fact that Music is portrayed as an immature and bratty "teenage child."
 * 2) *The casting of Maddie Ziegler in the role was controversial, as Ziegler is neurotypical and she was presumably cast in the role because she is a frequent collaborator of Sia.
 * 3) The film also poorly portrays African-Americans, with Ebo being depicted as a "magical negro" stereotype and wasting the talent of Leslie Odom Jr.
 * 4) *Adding to that, one dance number "Oh Body" has Ziegler dressed in blackface.
 * 5) There are several scenes where Music is being forcefully restrained in an attempt to calm her down, which is considered an ableist concept.
 * 6) The musical numbers that take place inside Music's mind, while impressive, are constantly out of nowhere and happen at inconvenient times.
 * 7) False Advertising: Despite the film's title, Music is mostly portrayed as a supporting character, as the film focuses more on Zu and Ebo.
 * 8) Acting that ranges from bland to annoying (except for Kate Hudson and Leslie Odom Jr).
 * 9) The story is disjointed and incredibly confusing, with clichés scattered throughout.
 * 10) Unlikeable characters, especially Zu, Ebo, and Music.
 * 11) The concept of a non-verbal autistic character is interesting, but it is horribly executed.
 * 12) Sia's cameo in the film is completely random and just a way to self-promote.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) The musical numbers, while random, are well choreographed, and the soundtrack is great.
 * 2) Good acting from Kate Hudson and Leslie Odom Jr, as well as Brandon Soo Hoo in a supporting role as Tanner.
 * 3) Tanner is a likable enough character.

Reception
The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews from both critics and audiences. Rotten Tomatoes, 9% of 45 reviews from critics for Music are positive, with an average rating of 3.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Offensive in its depiction of autism—and painfully misguided in essentially every respect—Music is a vanity project that begs to be turned down." Meanwhile, Meanwhile, Metacritic, which assigned the film a weighted average score of 23 out of 100 based on 18 critics, the film received "generally unfavorable reviews." Despite this, the film was nominated for two Golden Globes, both of which it lost. In fact, the show's presenters Tina Fey and Amy Poehler called the film the "biggest international floparooni" and "Twitter is saying it's the most offensive casting since Kate Hudson was the Weight Watchers spokesperson" in response to Ziegler playing an autistic person.