Disclaimer: The Fandads were provided with a review copy of The Peanut Butter Falcon for this post. All thoughts, opinions, and attempted wrestling moves are our own.
There is a scene in The Peanut Butter Falcon where Shia LeBeouf’s character is talking to Zach Gottsagen about good guys and bad guys. Zach thinks he is a bad guy and that he can not be a hero because he has Downs Syndrome, but Shia’s character Tyler tells him. “What’s that have to do with your heart? You have a good guy heart.” This might seem like just a conversation between two “road dogs” on the run, but it shows that Tyler doesn’t see Zach as a Downs Syndrome person, he sees him as a person.
The Peanut Butter Falcon is a heart-warming story about Zach trying to live out his dream, while Tyler is running away from what was a dream life. The two meet up and form an unlikely friendship that takes them through the backwoods of Florida to try to meet Zach’s hero the Salt Water Redneck.
Throughout the movie, we see that those that took care of Zach only see him for his condition and underestimate what he can or can’t do. When Zach meets Tyler, Tyler treats him like a normal person and teaches him about life. While the two are walking towards their destination, Dakota Johnson’s character Eleanor is trying to find Zach to bring him back to the nursing home where he is being housed.
This movie seems like a labor of love and the cast really shines in their roles. In the making of portion of the movie, we learn that writers and directors of the movie made this for Zach. After they had a conversation with Zach, they took what he liked and wrote a movie for him. They passed the script around and people signed up because they saw how beautiful the story was.
I really wish we were able to see this movie in the theaters, but we hope that with the home release more people are able to watch this fantastic film and share it with their families.
Final Thoughts: The Peanut Butter Falcon is a great take on the Tom Sawyer story. It is a touching story about a man who feels broken meeting someone that shows him about life. The language and some scenes might not be suitable for children younger than six but it is a good story that will create conversation way after the movie is over.
Kid-Friendly: While this is a good story for kids to see, it is not necessarily kid-friendly. Tyler’s character smokes and curses a lot during the movie. There are a few acts of violence that we will discuss in our next section. This is still a good story to see due to the message of believing in yourself and not letting labels tell you who you are.
Violence: There are some scenes that may be too much for younger viewers. The side story of Duncan and Rat Boy coming after Tyler might be hard for younger viewers to understand. The wrestling scenes toward the end of the movie are a little bloody for most viewers. Both my children watched it and enjoyed the movie, but did not have any issues with the movie.
The Peanut Butter Falcon follows Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a young man with Down syndrome who runs away from a residential nursing home to fulfill his dream of attending the pro wrestling school of his idol, The Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church). On the road, Zak meets Tyler (Shia LaBeouf), a small-time outlaw who becomes Zak’s unlikely coach and ally. Together, they set out on a wild, life-changing journey and try to convince Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), a kind nursing-home employee charged with bringing Zak back, to join them.
BLU-RAY / DVD SPECIAL FEATURES
- Photo Gallery
- “Zack’s Story: The Making of Peanut Butter Falcon” Featurette
