The Worst Movies of the 21st Century So Far

My grandmother was a big Frank Sinatra fan, so I heard his music a lot as a child. One of my favorites is “The Best Is Yet to Come.” I especially love the song’s optimistic lyrics – the idea that good things are still on the way.

To be honest, I’m naturally a bit of a pessimist, so the idea of looking on the bright side is appealing. I tend to focus on what’s missing or wrong. It’s not just that I see a glass half empty, I also start questioning everything – like, who was drinking from it? And if someone else did, I definitely wouldn’t want what’s left! (No offense meant, of course.)

Similarly, when someone says “The Best Is Yet to Come,” I often wonder if that implies we’ve already gone through the hardest times.

Here are ScreenCrush’s picks for the 21 worst movies of the 21st century. Just to clarify, the 21st century began in 2001, so the year 2000 doesn’t qualify – meaning Battlefield Earth gets a free pass this time!

These films aren’t very good – definitely not among the best ever made. But don’t worry, even better things are on the way.

The 21 Worst Movies of the 21st Century So Far

21. Basic Instinct 2 (2006)

Sharon Stone is remarkably talented – she can make even cheesy lines sound seductive. However, even her skills can’t save Basic Instinct 2, which is a disappointing film overall. Stone delivers a much stronger performance than her co-star, David Morrissey, whose character never feels like a match for hers. It’s hard to understand why her character is attracted to him, almost as if she sees him as an easy conquest. Stone clearly enjoys playing her manipulative character, but Morrissey’s character is so bland that there’s no real suspense or excitement in her toying with him. The dynamic feels completely uneven, like watching a professional basketball team play against amateurs – Catherine, who’s supposed to crave danger, doesn’t face any real challenge from him.

20. The Book of Henry (2017)

Colin Trevorrow’s follow-up to Jurassic World, The Book of Henry, was a critical and commercial failure – a surprisingly strange movie that mixes fantastical elements with disturbing themes. It’s a bizarre story, somehow managing to be both a religious allegory about sacrifice and a tale of a mother overcoming abuse. The plot involves a deceased child prodigy guiding his mother to become an assassin, and it presents this outlandish premise with complete sincerity. Yes, all of that actually happens in the movie!

19. Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)

Warner Bros. hilariously skewered itself in Space Jam: A New Legacy, portraying the company as a cold, calculating entity obsessed with its properties. Unfortunately, the movie itself was a major disappointment – it made the original Space Jam look like a masterpiece. LeBron James isn’t a bad actor; he performs about as well as Michael Jordan did in the first film. However, almost everything else in A New Legacy was simply embarrassing. The movie doesn’t seem to grasp what makes the Looney Tunes characters so beloved, and it even manages to make Bugs Bunny unlikeable. Instead of watching this movie, I recommend revisiting some classic Looney Tunes shorts on HBO Max. You’ll get far more laughs from a single short than from the entire two-hour film, and the animation is much better too.

18. Catwoman (2004)

In the movie Catwoman, Halle Berry plays Patience Phillips, a beauty executive who uncovers dangerous toxins in her company’s products and is subsequently killed by her employers. However, she’s resurrected by cats, joining a long lineage of feline crime-fighters. As Catwoman, Berry uses classic cat abilities – agility, perfect landings, and a love for stealing shiny objects – while also showcasing a knack for basketball and a penchant for leather. The movie, directed by Pitof (who came from a visual effects background), isn’t visually terrible for its time, but it’s notoriously poorly edited. A glaring example: the actors wear the same outfits for two consecutive days of scenes, revealing that footage from the first day was simply repurposed to create a second day of events without any reshoots.

17. Madame Web (2024)

“Madame Web” feels like an older, less polished Marvel movie, reminiscent of films made before the era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where adaptations sometimes seemed hesitant about their comic book origins. Dakota Johnson, who plays the lead, embodies this feeling – and interestingly, her character, Cassie Webb, is never actually called “Madame Web” throughout the film. She also doesn’t wear a traditional superhero costume, with one very brief exception. It’s as if everyone involved is a little uncomfortable with the material. (And honestly, that’s understandable.) The movie is often silly, strange, and confusing, making even the less-successful “The Amazing Spider-Man” look like a masterpiece. It makes you wonder what Kevin Feige, the architect of the MCU, would think if he watched it – that would be an amusing sight.

16. Planet of the Apes (2001)

Mark Wahlberg plays an astronaut who has a really rough time. He gets pulled into a strange purple cloud in space and ends up on a planet inhabited by apes! After a long and difficult journey, he manages to return to Earth, only to discover it’s now a planet of apes as well. Director Tim Burton, known for his successful films in the 80s and 90s, unfortunately made a significant misstep with this one.

15. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

The film’s title hints at its biggest problem: it tries to be too much at once. Is it an X-Men movie, a Wolverine story, or an origin tale? It attempts all three, and that’s where it fails. Director Gavin Hood would have been better off focusing on a single angle. The movie feels destined to disappoint, crammed with pieces from multiple X-Men and Wolverine narratives. Hugh Jackman’s character, Logan, even says, “We didn’t sign up for this,” which ironically reflects how many viewers felt about the film itself. Other lines, like “We’ve done enough!” and “Wake me when it’s over,” seem to acknowledge the movie’s flaws as well.

14. Meet the Spartans (2008)

One of the most disappointing trends in recent movie history was the surge of poorly made parody films that followed the success of the Scary Movie series. Often written and directed by those involved with Scary Movie, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, these films relied on a simple, and usually unfunny, formula: recreating scenes from popular movies – especially 300 in the case of Meet the Spartans, but also borrowing from films like Shrek, Spider-Man 3, and Happy Feet – with look-alikes and slapstick humor. Even when they were initially amusing, the jokes were so focused on fleeting 2000s pop culture references – like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton – that the films haven’t aged well. It’s best to avoid Meet the Spartans altogether.

13. Marmaduke (2022)

I’ve rarely seen an animated movie as visually unappealing as Marmaduke, and I hope I never do. It feels like something made purely to fulfill a contractual obligation or, frankly, to hide money. Despite the awful animation, the movie boasts a surprisingly talented voice cast, including J.K. Simmons, David Koechner, and Pete Davidson. It’s baffling – did they not see the script or the characters? Were they somehow bribed? Marmaduke is just plain bad. I wouldn’t even recommend it to the kids who used to tease me – and honestly, their bullying songs were more imaginative than anything in this movie.

12. Daddy Day Camp (2007)

It appeared that almost everyone involved with the original Daddy Day Care didn’t want to return for the sequel. The original cast – Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin, Steve Zahn, and Regina King – were replaced by Cuba Gooding Jr., Paul Rae, Josh McLerran, and Tamala Jones. Even the director of the first film, Steve Carr, wasn’t involved.

The first movie focused on Murphy and Garlin learning how to run a day care. The sequel shifts the setting to a summer camp, and with their experience, it should have been easy. However, like in most sequels, everything goes wrong, and unfortunately, the movie suffers as a result.

11. Elektra (2005)

Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe took off, things were tough for Marvel fans. After the initial success of movies like X-Men and Spider-Man, studios started rushing out Marvel adaptations without the same attention to quality. The worst example of this was the Elektra movie. Jennifer Garner returned as the assassin, but the film portrayed her as strangely meticulous—constantly cleaning to avoid leaving DNA—yet incredibly careless, befriending neighbors while on a mission and failing to realize they were her targets. The movie also gave Elektra the power to see the future and even rewind time after she died in Daredevil, essentially making her a god. Naturally, she used these powers to fight ninjas. Who wouldn’t, if they could travel through time?

10. Norbit (2007)

Eddie Murphy is known for entertaining audiences by playing multiple roles in one movie, often with the help of impressive makeup. His 2007 film, Norbit, made nearly $160 million worldwide despite receiving negative reviews, having been made on a $60 million budget. However, that doesn’t make it a good movie. While Murphy is talented at physically transforming himself – and the makeup effects are fantastic – the film tells a frustrating story about a timid man who marries a controlling and abusive woman, both roles played by Murphy. His portrayal of the vengeful and aggressive Rasputia is technically skillful, but relies on cruel stereotypes and constant jokes about her weight. He also plays Mr. Wong, a harsh Chinese man who runs an orphanage and speaks with a problematic, exaggerated accent. Overall, the movie is just disheartening.

9. The Emoji Movie (2017)

A good movie about smartphones and emojis could definitely be made, but it would need to be much funnier and more critical than The Emoji Movie. Beyond a simple message of accepting others, the film feels exactly like an advertisement from a tech company that relies on selling phones – it basically says having a smartphone will make you popular and more appealing. It’s not very enjoyable.

8. Bulletproof Monk (2003)

I saw this movie over 20 years ago, and I was the only one in the theater—and everyone else was smart to stay away. By the end, I was so bored I started moving around, trying to find a better seat, but nothing helped. It was just a bad movie. Looking back, Bulletproof Monk might have the worst martial arts sequences ever filmed in Hollywood. It’s not entirely the director’s fault, though—it seems like Seann William Scott did a lot of his own stunts, while Chow Yun-fat didn’t. When the actor best known for playing Stifler is the one most dedicated to the action scenes, you know you have a problem.

7. Artemis Fowl (2020)

When the COVID-19 pandemic started, Disney postponed most of its big 2020 movies. However, they released Artemis Fowl directly on Disney+, and looking back, that should have been a warning sign. The movie tries to fit the plot of ten books into just 90 minutes, making it confusing and difficult to watch. (I still can’t explain how Josh Gad’s character went from intruder to ally with Artemis Fowl without a single word being spoken!) It’s rare for a streaming movie to feel like a waste of money when you haven’t even paid extra, but Artemis Fowl managed to do just that.

6. Son of the Mask (2005)

Let me tell you, few things in cinema are as depressing as a sequel that doesn’t include its star, and Son of the Mask is a prime example. The original Mask worked because Jim Carrey became something else when he put on that mask – it unleashed his incredible physical comedy and impressions. This time around, Jamie Kennedy barely wears the mask, and when he does, he’s…stiff. Seriously, they try to justify it by making him a frustrated cartoonist, as if that explains why he can’t recapture Carrey’s magic. It almost sounds like they dubbed over his voice trying to make him sound more like Carrey!

And the plot? Buckle up. A huge chunk of the movie revolves around the dog being jealous of the new baby…and deliberately putting on the mask to try and kill him. Yes, you read that right. A jealous dog subplot! Thankfully, the baby’s born with mask powers of his own, so it all works out.

But honestly, nothing – absolutely nothing – could have prepared me for the sight of a CGI baby projectile vomiting and…well, let’s just say relieving himself on Jamie Kennedy. This movie should have met the same fate as the mask at the end of the first film: tossed into the river and forgotten.

5. Alone in the Dark (2005)

Uwe Boll gained notoriety as a director by making numerous video game adaptations, funded by a German tax benefit that ensured his films would be profitable. It’s a bit like the characters from Mel Brooks’ The Producers, but focused on video games.

One of his worst films from the 2000s, Alone in the Dark, stars Tara Reid as an archaeologist and Christian Slater as a detective investigating paranormal events. However, the movie is so confusing that it’s hard to explain the plot – even the opening title sequence, which is an incredibly long and rambling 90 seconds, adds to the chaos. Considering Alone in the Dark was already ranked as the worst video game movie ever made, the fact that it isn’t at the very bottom of this list speaks volumes.

4. Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023)

This low-budget horror film is a loose and unfortunate adaptation of the classic Winnie-the-Pooh stories, which are now freely available for anyone to use. It fails as both a scary movie and as a commentary on children’s books. Ironically, it only succeeds in making a strange point against the idea of public domain—suggesting that copyright protection might be useful in preventing truly awful creations like this from being made. Simply put, Blood and Honey is a terrible movie.

3. Dolittle (2020)

Remember the scene in Tim Burton’s Batman where the doctor’s attempt to fix Jack Napier’s face results in the Joker’s iconic scars? That’s what watching Dolittle feels like – a disjointed, unpleasant experience, as if it was haphazardly assembled from leftover footage. What likely began as a more grounded film was transformed into a chaotic mix of childish humor – think poop jokes and talking animals – questionable special effects, and a wildly over-the-top performance from Robert Downey Jr., making even Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow seem reserved.

2. The Master of Disguise (2002)

The idea behind The Master of Disguise was promising: a character who can imitate others seemed perfect for Dana Carvey, known for his impressions on Saturday Night Live. However, Carvey excels at impressions – copying voices and mannerisms – which isn’t the same as disguise. A true master of disguise would completely transform themselves and become unrecognizable. Carvey’s character, Pistachio Disguisey, is anything but invisible. You’d immediately know it was him, even when he’s supposedly impersonating Al Pacino in Scarface or Robert Shaw in Jaws. Many scenes are more awkward than funny, like the one where Carvey disguises himself as a bizarre turtle-like creature. At just 70 minutes long, the film is at least brief, but those 70 minutes feel incredibly long, painful, and ultimately, just aren’t funny.

1. Disaster Movie (2008)

The title Disaster Movie is a misnomer on both counts. The film parodies recent blockbusters like 10,000 B.C., Hancock, Jumper, Enchanted, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Beowulf, and The Love Guru, but barely qualifies as a movie itself. It features a minimal plot and only a couple of recognizable characters, relying instead on a constant stream of awful celebrity impersonations – so bad, even the characters in the movie point them out.

Honestly, it’s one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. By the time a man was fighting someone dressed in a cheap Kung Fu Panda costume, I didn’t feel anger, but genuine sadness – both for the actors and for anyone who actually paid to watch it.

Essential Movies on Netflix Every Film Lover Should See

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

While Netflix has a lot of content, it doesn’t have many classic or historically important films. One notable exception is George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, a hugely influential horror movie about a zombie outbreak. Beyond the zombies themselves, the film is important because Romero made it independently, and it achieved significant success and cultural impact, making it a landmark achievement in filmmaking.

The Sting (1973)

Often considered even better than Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting is a captivating yet surprisingly sad film about two con artists – a young, eager crook played by Robert Redford and a seasoned hustler portrayed by Paul Newman. They team up to avenge the murder of Redford’s partner, a crime committed by a ruthless mobster (Robert Shaw). The acting from all three leads is superb, and the movie is filled with clever twists and turns, though it also offers a poignant look at loneliness during the Great Depression. The Sting won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1973 and remains a classic of 1970s Hollywood cinema.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

The 1974 horror film that started a long-running series was added to the Library of Congress’s collection in 2024 because of its lasting impact on culture, history, and art. (A documentary about the film, called Chain Reactions, was also released that year.) If you’ve only heard about the series or seen one of the less impressive sequels or remakes, now’s the time to watch the original—it’s a bloody, brutal, and beautiful film, currently available on Netflix.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

I remember when Pulp Fiction came out – it wasn’t necessarily the most copied movie of the ’90s in the long run, but for a while, everyone was trying to make something like it. And honestly, most of those attempts were pretty bad, which really highlighted just how talented Quentin Tarantino is, even today. What struck me most about the film is how it shouldn’t really work. It’s this huge, sprawling story about crime in Los Angeles, but also a really intimate look at the characters. It jumps between completely over-the-top scenes – like mysterious briefcases and secret clubs – and incredibly ordinary moments, like people talking about foot rubs or what they had for lunch. It’s grand and small, funny and sad, violent and silly, all at the same time. That’s just Pulp Fiction for you.

Titanic (1997)

James Cameron’s most famous films all share a similar formula: a love story, large-scale action, exciting pursuits, and a complex relationship with technology. While Titanic isn’t as action-packed as films like The Terminator or Avatar, it still includes all of these key elements. It was a groundbreaking and hugely successful film, and even today, it’s easy to see why. Cameron excels at keeping the story centered on the characters, even when the scenes around them are massive in scale.

Election (1999)

Reese Witherspoon truly stood out in the 1999 comedy Election, where she plays Tracy Flick, a driven high school student who clashes with her cynical history teacher (Matthew Broderick, cleverly playing a role similar to his famous character Ferris Bueller). The film centers on the amusing rivalry that develops when Tracy runs for student council president. Election is a darkly funny and realistic movie, and it’s often cited as a highlight of the fantastic films released in 1999. What’s also interesting is the title – simply Election, not The Election – because the movie is just as much about the difficult process of making decisions as it is about the outcome of a single school election.

Donnie Darko (2001)

Netflix isn’t the best place to find truly unique or classic cult films, especially if you’re looking for older titles. They do have a lot of their own, more recent movies, but if you want a genuine midnight-movie favorite, your choices are limited. One example is Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko, which features a young Jake Gyllenhaal as a teenager who avoids a tragedy and might be the only one who can prevent a global catastrophe. The film is known for its unsettling visuals, dark mood, and memorable ending, and it’s considered one of the best independent films from the early 2000s.

The Squid and the Whale (2005)

Noah Baumbach truly established himself as a talented filmmaker with a deeply personal movie about a young man (played by Jesse Eisenberg, who also benefited from the film’s success) navigating his parents’ divorce. The film received many award nominations and launched Baumbach into a new and ongoing phase of his career, including acclaimed works like the Netflix films Marriage Story and Jay Kelly.

Zodiac (2007)

David Fincher is known for directing films about serial killers, but Zodiac is more than just a crime thriller. It’s a journey through San Francisco’s history, told through the perspectives of three men obsessed with solving the Zodiac Killer case. We see a dedicated police inspector (Mark Ruffalo), inspired by the character in Bullitt; a crime reporter (Robert Downey Jr.) whose coverage made him a target; and an amateur detective, Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), who remains fixated on the case even after the killings stop. What Zodiac does exceptionally well is show how all-consuming an obsession can be. Fincher immerses the audience in a maze of clues and false leads using clever camera work and editing. By the film’s ending – which cleverly connects back to the opening scene after a tense two and a half hours – viewers truly understand Robert Graysmith’s relentless drive.

Boyhood (2014)

For twelve years, director Richard Linklater secretly filmed scenes with the same actors – a boy (Ellar Coltrane), his mother (Patricia Arquette), and his sister (Lorelei Linklater) – to document their lives. While some might see this as a personal project for Linklater, the film actually creates a fascinating snapshot of American life in the early 2000s, and the everyday love, struggles, and compromises of one family. All movies deal with time, but Boyhood has a truly special connection to it. Seeing the actors genuinely age on screen adds a touching quality to many scenes and makes others even more emotionally powerful. When Patricia Arquette reflects on her life at the film’s end, her words carry the weight of a full twelve years of real experiences. As the late film critic Roger Ebert put it, movies offer us glimpses beyond our own lives, and Boyhood feels like it opens those doors wider than any other film.

Whiplash (2014)

Whiplash is a fantastic film that explores the intense dedication and sacrifices artists make for their craft. The movie follows Miles Teller as a driven young jazz drummer at a top music school, and his challenging, often abusive, relationship with his demanding instructor. While pushing him to excel, this relationship raises the question of how much is too much. Director Damien Chazelle expertly balances the film’s thrilling energy with a deeper look at the costs of ambition, culminating in a phenomenal final scene – a powerful showdown between student and teacher. Surprisingly, Whiplash also works as a truly terrifying horror film; the calmly delivered criticism of ‘not quite my tempo’ is far more chilling than anything found in typical horror movies of the 2010s.

Sing Street (2016)

Just how good is Sing Street? I actually cried while watching it… on a plane! Even on a small airplane screen at 35,000 feet, this inspiring story about Irish teens chasing their music dreams really resonated. It’s filled with witty writing, fantastic performances, and honestly, the music is even better than La La Land. Sing Street is a genuinely uplifting movie, and we could all use a little of that. Be warned though – it might make you tear up! (Or really cry – no shame in that.)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

While bigger isn’t always better, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse remains a standout and arguably the best Spider-Man movie. It features a large team of Spider-People, including the new hero Miles Morales, the determined Gwen Stacy, and a downcast Peter B. Parker. The film powerfully emphasizes the classic Spider-Man message – that anyone can be a hero – and beautifully brings Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s inspiring vision to life through stunning animation.

Roma (2018)

In 2018, Netflix truly began to deliver exceptional original films, notably Alfonso Cuarón’s deeply personal movie, Roma, which tells the story of a Mexican family and their housekeeper, Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio). When it was first released, many people argued that Roma deserved to be seen in a movie theater to fully appreciate it—and it’s true that the beautiful black-and-white visuals looked stunning on the big screen. However, watching it at home had its benefits, allowing viewers to experience the emotional film privately. This highlighted the advantages of Netflix’s streaming model.

The Irishman (2019)

Frank Sheeran truly supported Jimmy Hoffa – and ultimately, that’s where he ended up. This subtle hint early on is just one example of the incredible detail and artistry in The Irishman, a masterful film that feels like a culmination of Martin Scorsese’s career. The most powerful moments happen towards the end, as Robert De Niro’s character, Sheeran, finally faces the consequences of his life. He appears to take pride in much of what he’s done, especially his loyalty to Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). However, he also seems to realize, perhaps for the first time, that all the status, wealth, and respect he gained came at the cost of dying alone in a nursing home. A priest attempts to offer him forgiveness. But will it be enough?

Cats (2019)

Let’s be honest, Cats doesn’t compare to the other films on this list. However, to truly understand what’s brilliant, we need something truly baffling to contrast it with, and Cats definitely fits the bill. Even years later, people are still puzzled by this strange adaptation of the Broadway musical. Why do some of the cats have human hands? Where are all the people? What is “hot milk soup”? Why does Jennifer Hudson have a runny nose throughout the entire film? Why does Idris Elba appear half-naked? And why is Taylor Swift wearing heels while everyone else is barefoot? These questions will probably haunt us forever, and honestly, that’s a good thing.

The Power of the Dog (2021)

Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog is a slow-burn film that demands your full attention; it’s easy to miss crucial details if you’re distracted. The story unfolds gradually, revealing complex characters and their motivations. Set in the Old West, the film centers on Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch), a tough cowboy grappling with change when his brother (Jesse Plemons) introduces his new wife (Kirsten Dunst) and her son, Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee), to their ranch. Peter seems ill-suited to ranch life, and Phil’s judgments of him—and our own perceptions of Phil—lead to a surprising and impactful conclusion. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait another decade for Campion’s next film.

RRR (2022)

As a total cinema fan, I have to tell you about RRR – this Indian epic just completely blew me away! It’s a three-hour rollercoaster of action, romance, and seriously energetic musical numbers that will leave you breathless. The basic idea is a really cool spin on those classic John Woo action films, but set in India. It centers around two incredibly powerful men – Bheem, a warrior from the Gond tribe, and Rama, who works for the British Empire – who end up on opposing sides of the law. Bheem travels to Delhi to find a kidnapped girl, and Rama is tasked with tracking down whoever is looking for her. You’d think they’d be enemies, right? But a chance encounter leads to an unlikely friendship. From there, the movie is filled with this amazing tension – you’re constantly waiting for them to discover each other’s true identities. There are incredible set pieces – seriously, rescuing kids from a burning river! – and they even manage to stick it to the British aristocracy with some unbelievably cool dance numbers. The symbolism is strong too – Bheem is often linked to water, and Rama to fire. It’s just a wild, exhilarating ride!

Godzilla Minus One (2023)

It’s rare for a prequel to truly enhance a franchise, but Godzilla Minus One does just that. By setting Godzilla’s story in post-World War II Japan, the film powerfully revives the original intent of the character – as a frightening symbol of atomic devastation and the psychological scars of war. And this Godzilla is genuinely terrifying – immense in scale, disturbingly unwell, and with an atomic breath that truly frightens.

But Godzilla Minus One is more than just a visually impressive monster movie. It features a complex and relatable human protagonist (Ryunosuke Kamiki) and explores difficult themes surrounding kamikaze pilots, adding emotional weight to the story. A significant portion of the film feels reminiscent of a classic Howard Hawks adventure, with a crew of tough sailors battling a colossal, nuclear-powered dinosaur – and it’s as incredible as that sounds.

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2023)

While Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret didn’t make a huge splash in theaters, it feels destined to become a defining movie for today’s young generation, much like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was for those of us growing up in the 80s. This faithful adaptation of the classic Judy Blume novel is beautifully written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, and features a fantastic cast including Rachel McAdams, Benny Safdie, and Kathy Bates. Abby Ryder Fortson, who was so memorable in the Ant-Man films, is also wonderful as Margaret. As a father of two daughters, I’m not looking forward to navigating these coming-of-age challenges, but I’m glad this movie will be here when they do.

2026-01-29 17:07