The Peanut Butter Falcon - Movie Review

Zak, a man with Down Syndrome (Zach Gottsagen) escapes his assisted living home with ambitions of becoming a pro wrestler. Zak links up with Tyler, a fisherman on the run (Shia LaBeouf) and they travel together towards the wrestling school.

Meanwhile, Zak is being pursued by his caretaker Elanor (Dakota Johnson), while Tyler is being pursued by his rival fishermen. Can Zak and Tyler break away from their past?

Zach Gottsagen & Shia LaBeouf in The Peanut Butter Falcon.

So I happened to be skimming through my parents Netflix feed and I came across this movie. With no expectations I watched this and was pleasantly surprised by how charming and well executed it was.

The script is a little suspect at times, but full credit to the actors who all give it their best. Even the supporting cast is strong, particularly Bruce Dern and Thomas Hayden Church.

Don't expect much in the way of pro wrestling though... The wrestling action is minimal, even though Mick Foley and Jake Roberts are involved. It seems like the writers of the script don't have a great understanding of pro wrestling. 

For example, the signature move of The Salt Water Redneck (Zak's hero) is a press slam to the floor. When Zak asks the Redneck to teach him the press slam, Redneck says that it's not possible, it's just an optical illusion.

Apparently, this is just an optical illusion.

To me, the main draw of this movie is the performances and chemistry the actors share. You get the sense that the lead actors genuinely care about each other. The movie is shot on the coast of North Carolina and Georgia, so the scenery is nice too. It's not a classic but a pleasant watch. 

**1/4

You can stream this movie on Amazon or Netflix, depending on where you live.

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I was thinking about my review of The Iron Claw. Looking back, maybe I was a little too easy on it. The whole Ric Flair vs Kevin Von Erich scene didn't work for me (not just Flair's performance) and I felt the ending was a bit jarring compared to the rest of the movie.

Reflecting on it now, I would rate it **1/2.