Sometimes, movies have dumb names or names that are so obscure that you can’t even remember the title. This is the case with first-time directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz in the sentimental surprise summer hit The Peanut Butter Falcon. Starring protagonist Zak (newcomer Zack Gottsagen), whose screen chemistry with Shia LaBeouf (Man Down, Borg Vs. McEnroe) is instantaneous, the result is a sort of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn between two pals trekking and floating down the fictional marshland in North Carolina.
Zak is a 22-year-old man with Down Syndrome who has lived in a residential nursing home for the past two years because he has no family and the state has nowhere to put him. After a second escape attempt marks him as a high-flight risk, he knows he has to succeed with his next one. His roommate Carl (Bruce Dern – Nebraska, The Mustang) helps him bend the cell-like bars outside his first-floor room, lathering him with soap so he can slide through the opening in only his underwear and escape into the middle of the night. His goal? To attend the pro wrestling school of his idol, The Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church – Sideways, We Bought a Zoo) in southern North Carolina. He’s been watching the same old VHS tape that shows Salt Water in various matches for several years. He believes that Zak has what it takes to be a pro wrestler with his training.
After a night of distancing himself from the nursing home, Zak finds rest under the tarp of the crab boat that belongs to Tyler, a troubled crab trapper with his own share of problems, past and present. He, too, is on the run after being fired from his job for crabbing in waters that don’t belong to his employer and then setting the equipment of rival competitor Duncan (John Hawkes – The Sessions, Everest) in a fiery blaze. Tyler’s goal is to get to Florida, and after some initial resistance, because it’s on the way to Florida, he agrees to take Zak to his wrestling school. Before long, Tyler is coaching Zak on preparing to be his best physical self when he arrives at the school while they zigzag through the deltas and estuaries in North Carolina’s marshland while drinking whiskey, catching fish, and evading those trying to find each of them.
Besides Duncan, who is hot after Tyler, trailing them in this “buddies on the run” film is Eleanor (Dakota Johnson – Fifty Shades of Grey, Black Mass), Zak’s gentle friend and staff member at the nursing home who has been tasked with finding Zak and bringing him back to the facility. She has few clues but knows he watches the same wrestling tape repeatedly and uses the wrestling school’s address as her desperate attempt to find out where he may be.
Suppose you can set aside the reality that the scenarios and coincidences in this movie are highly likely to occur. In that case, you will have a gratifying experience with this movie. LaBeouf turns in one of the better performances of his career as a man who cares too much and not enough. He’s haunted by something that’s happened in his past (though this was done exceptionally poorly with flashbacks and, honestly, hurt the movie more than it helped it), which seems to influence his recklessness. It doesn’t take him very long to realize that Zak needs somebody in his life, hence the promise to get him to the wrestling school, where they will then say goodbye. But, of course, they grow closer in their travels than Tyler would have thought. His connection to his new friend is much more personal than anything he has known in quite some time. In a way, they are each discovering, maybe not this new world, but this new life through each other.
The “buddy” story isn’t anything unique, nor is the concept of helping an individual with Down Syndrome. Nor is the idea of two people running from authorities. But The Peanut Butter Falcon is tender, thoughtful, and humorous. It presents these lively characters, each flawed, most with good intentions, and drops us in our laps as if we’ve known them our entire lives. It’s the perfect end of a summer movie and will likely remind you of films like The Way Way Back or Little Miss Sunshine.
It’s not perfect, but The Peanut Butter Falcon is worth watching. I don’t think you need to rush to the theater to see it, but add it to your list. LaBeouf fans will love it.
Plot 7.5/10
Character Development 8/10
Character Chemistry 9/10
Acting 9/10
Screenplay 8/10
Directing 8/10
Cinematography 9/10
Sound 9/10
Hook and Reel 9/10
Universal Relevance 9/10
85.5%
B+
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