MOVIE REVIEW by Lucas Allen: ‘Peanut Butter Falcon’ feel-good crowd-pleaser

The Peanut Butter Falcon
(Roadshow Attractions)

By Lucas Allen

With fall already underway, there are plenty of titles trying to go for the big cheese being the Oscars in 2020. There will be some films destined to reach that goal, while others will be left in the dust. “The Peanut Butter Falcon” falls into the latter category, but also in the category of a feel-good audience pleaser. It also features a tremendous comeback of a once-popular teen star from the last 2000s.
A young man with Down syndrome, Zak (newcomer Zack Gottsagen) has been living in a North Carolina retirement home for the past two years after being abandoned by his family. Though he’s been rooming with Carl (Bruce Dern) under the care of the kindly Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), he wants to venture out on his own and fulfill his dream of becoming a wrestler by heading to a wrestling school under the tutelage of the famous Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church).
One night with the help of Carl, Zak makes his escape before hiding out in a fishing boat. He doesn’t know that the boat belongs to Tyler (Shia LaBeouf), a young fisherman dealing with the death of his brother Mark (Jon Bernthal) while turning to a life of an outlaw.
After a run-in with a fisherman named Duncan (John Hawkes), Tyler discovers Zak in his boat and decides to let him tag along while trying to escape through the Carolina coastline to Florida. But as they go along, they start to befriend one another eventually finding common ground. Tyler even helps Zak with his wrestling training before giving him the name The Peanut Butter Falcon. Meanwhile, Eleanor on the search for Zak before she has to give him up for another place eventually finds the two men before she ends joining them on the trip.
Whether or not it makes any impact in the awards circuit, the movie is still a cheerful crowd-pleaser that doesn’t feel cynical in its execution. It’s written with a heart and a soul all its own with characters you find yourself connected to. The script does fall into some clichés especially involving someone with a dream and trying to fulfill it. However, it adds a good mix of comedy and drama that will leave you feeling good at the end.
There is a sense of Green Book to be felt when the movie focuses on a friendship between two different people. But the chemistry between the main actors make it feel like a different kind of friendship film like a cross between Stephen King and Mark Twain. The only part of this film that went nowhere is a romance subplot, which feels needless. Other than that, it delivers an uplifting message of reaching for your dreams no matter what anybody says about you or your background.
After years out of the spotlight, LaBeouf finally found a role that may help him find his groove back as a serious actor. Not only is he great in the movie, his scenes with Gottsagen who has Down syndrome in real life brought plenty heart and laughs to the movie. Johnson has a nice supporting turn, while Church and Dern are both hilarious in their limited roles. Also, there are some fine cameos from former WWE pro-wrestlers Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Mick “Mankind” Foley that wrestling fans will have a good laugh about.
“The Peanut Butter Falcon” certainly succeeds as crowd-pleasing entertainment with a good heart and a funny bone to boot. If you want something different from your normal movie viewing, this one should be right up your alley.

THE MOVIE’S RATING: PG-13 (for thematic content, language throughout, some violence, and smoking)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.25 Stars (Out of Four)