Not everything has to be edgy or provocative entertainment these days, in fact, a kind movie that emphasizes friendship can be quite the palette cleanser these days, and “The Peanut Butter Falcon” gives us a kindhearted film that lets us enjoy our character’s journey.
Zak Gottsagen is Zak, a young wrestling fan with Downs syndrome, who lives in a retirement home after being abandoned by his family. One evening Zak escapes his Virginia retirement home in hopes of living his dream of attending a wrestling school with his hero, “The Saltwater Redneck”. Along the way, he forms a bond with Tyler (Shia Labeouf), who he meets as a stowaway while escaping from a group of thugs. Together, they’ll flee south evading Zak’s social worker (Dakota Johnson) and the criminals that want Tyler’s head.
Everything just works so well here. The entire cast is terrific. Gottsagen is great, LaBeouf and Johnson have some real chemistry, and Thomas Haden Church and Bruce Dern are just great in supporting roles. Directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz paint some beautiful visuals on our journey and the story flows nicely and is just the perfect length.
If I had to pick out some flaws, the movie does require us to suspend our belief a couple of times and the film concludes in a blink of an eye. You really could miss it, so stay alert. These things don’t really hurt the experience though.
I hope more people see “The Peanut Butter Falcon”. We need more reminders of how beautifully a story on friendship can be told.
GRADE: B+
Rated: PG-13
Running time: 93 minutes.
