David Arndt

I had to see this, because I have Asperger's and it was very controversial. It stars: Maddie Ziegler. She plays the part of an autistic girl named Music. Directed and co-written by: Sia Furler, an Australian singer, songwriter and movie maker. The movie was based on an autistic boy that the Writer/Director (Sia) knew. It's about Two Sisters: Music and Kazoo. Music is severely Autistic. Kazoo is a recovering alcoholic. Kazoo takes care of her Sister, Music. Music is nonverbal- she can speak, but, she is too shy to do so. She uses a "Talker" (A device that looks like a miniature IPad. It has pictures on it, you touch the picture of what you want to say and the device says the word). Music sticks to a routine. Most autistics do that. Every morning, she wants someone to braid her hair and cook her some Eggs. Then she goes out for a walk. She doesn't like it when she can't stick to her routine. If she can't stick to her routine, she gets stressed out. That can cause a minor meltdown. Kazoo, Music's Sister, is a Singer, Dancer and performer. She takes care of Music the best she can. A lot of people on the Autism Spectrum were offended by the movie before it was even released. Myself, I didn't find the movie offensive, just a little weird. Some things that autistic people have complained about were: Maddie Ziegler is not autistic in real life. A lot of autistics have complained about that. They think that they should have used an actor who really is autistic. I cannot complain about that. Because, Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man) and Dakota Fanning (Please Stand By) are not autistic either and they both did a really good job pretending they were autistic in those movies. (Those are my Two favorite Autism movies.) Another big complaint the Autism community had about the movie is that it doesn't give a very accurate representation of people who are autistic. Yes, there are some people who are severely autistic and they act like Music does, but, most of us are not like that. One more thing that really bothers people on the Autism spectrum was the way they responded to Music when she had a meltdown. They physically restrained her and took her down to the ground and held her down until she calmed down. (PLEASE DON'T DO THAT TO SOMEONE WHO IS AUTISTIC!!! It might do more harm than good! Some autistic people don't like it when people touch them!) The movie was nominated for several awards. Most autistics who have seen the movie and reviewed it, including me, have said, "I don't think it deserves an academy award." Overall, I think the movie is worth seeing. Especially if you are interested in Autism. It's not the best Autism movie I've ever seen. I will give it a rating of: 2.5 out of 5 stars.