The 15 Worst Movies of 2021

(#6) Easily one of the most misguided and befuddling film projects of 2021, Music marks the directorial and screenwriting debut for pop star Sia. The film stars Kate Hudson as Kazu, an alcoholic drug dealer who suddenly finds herself forced to care for her nonverbal younger half sister Music (Maddie Ziegler), who is on the autism spectrum, with the aid of a neighbor (Leslie Odom Jr.). The casting of Ziegler, who is not on the spectrum herself, proved controversial—as did multiple scenes in which an overwhelmed Music is physically restrained—but critics were more perplexed by the decision to shoehorn whimsical, interpretive song-and-dance numbers (intended to give viewers a peek into Music's thoughts) into an otherwise bleak film.

“It often feels like a movie made decades ago, one of those smarmily well-intentioned Hollywood exercises in issue-peddling that demands the gratitude of an entire community of people.” —Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair