Liam Scanlan “The Peanut Butter Falcon” Review
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| Photo Courtesy of blogspot.com |
Shia LaBeouf hasn’t been in that many movies lately. This is most likely due to the fact, in recent years, he has mostly been doing performance art. But this absence from cinema may finally be coming to an end, as he has most recently been in a heartwarming dramedy called “The Peanut Butter Falcon”.
The film centers around Zak, a 22-year-old man with Down syndrome, who escapes a retirement home where he is forced to live, and embarks on a journey with a fisherman named Tyler, who is played by LaBeouf, and who is escaping from a bunch of nasty rednecks, to meet a wrestler that the former looks up to, the “Salt Water Redneck”, played by Thomas Haden Church. In the process, he is trained to become a wrestler himself: the titular “Peanut Butter Falcon”.
What makes this film resonate with me is that the film is about a 20-something-year-old man with special needs who is overcoming obstacles, just like I am, except that I am four years older than Zak, and that I have autism rather than Down syndrome. It also reminds me of what horror awaits me if I don’t overcome my own obstacles, namely a group home.
The film’s way of storytelling is very unique, as it takes the buddy-comedy/road movie formula, and makes it more realistic, more relatable, especially to people with special needs, and more heartwarming. It also reminds one of Huckleberry Finn, due to it being about two men trying to escape from their tormentors
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| Our three heroes (from left to right) Tyler (Shia LaBeouf), Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), and Zak (Zack Gottsagen) journey on foot to meet the famed wrester, "The Salt Water Redneck". Photo Courtesy of thewrap.com. |
Each of the characters and their performances are very unique as well. For example, Zak is a pretty eccentric and funny character, regardless of his Down syndrome, Tyler is very kind and inspirational to him, Eleanor, Zak’s caretaker, played by Dakota Johnson, starts out very strict, but begins to have a change of heart, and Duncan, one of the rednecks, who is played by John Hawkes, is so villainous, and so devious, that he makes for a great movie villain. The way they interact is also unique. In fact, it is so unique that it matches the personalities of the characters themselves. The reason why I say this is because the actors act out the conversations between one so well, that I feel that very few movies do this right when compared this! For example, Tyler acts tough on Zak at first, and even threatens to shoot him, but once the latter gets to know the former, not only does he (Tyler) act like a lovable buffoon towards him, which why he encourages him to drink whiskey, a scene which I’ll get to later, but he also becomes a lot nicer and a lot more supportive towards him over the course of the film’s runtime. Tyler even cheers for him whenever he uses his “Peanut Butter Falcon” alter ego!
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Tyler and Zak bond over a snack. Photo Courtesy of rollingstone.com.
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The film’s themes, like I have said, resonate with me, a LOT, but if you combine a plot element where a disabled person kicks butt, and a heartwarming tone, then you getting the sweetest pro-disabled movie there is. One of these themes is motivation, because Tyler motivates Zak to do his best, as well as the former motivating Eleanor to being less hard on the latter. Isn’t that bittersweet or what?
Its humor is also quite unique. The jokes that both Zak and Tyler utter to each other are so irreverent, that it makes it harder to believe that they are two different people. Let’s also not forget where in one scene, one of the characters, a blind African-American dude baptizes Zak and Tyler, after almost trying to shoot them, is both funny and heartwarming at the same time! There is also a scene where Tyler gives him a few rules about being with him, the first of which, “Don’t slow him down”, is misunderstood by Zak as “Party”. Tyler himself would later say that said first rule is INDEED “Party” in a scene where drinks whiskey with him. If irony were strawberries, I’d be drinking smoothies at this point! I found both scenes to be very funny because the former scene depicts the blind guy as somewhat dysfunctional, while the latter is ironic, like I have said just now!
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| Actors Zack Gottsagen and Shia LaBeouf share some laughs on set. Photo Courtesy of indiewire.com. |
The fact that this film opens in Texas, and centers on a silly redneck spending time with a younger, more eccentric dude, reminds me of a show that I absolutely LOVE: the cult animated sitcom “King of the Hill”! The only difference is that the former is a buddy-dramedy about a Down syndrome person and a fisherman going on a journey across the South together, and that the latter is about a redneck dad, Hank Hill, trying to spend time with his strange son, Bobby, and trying to make sense of what is happening in his fictional hometown of Arlen, Texas. But yeah, the subtle similarities in plot, humor, and tone are indeed uncanny!
The film’s cinematography plays out just like any other movie, which is a good thing, as that makes it 100% flaw-free!
I pretty much enjoyed “The Peanut Butter Falcon”. If you like a good, pro-disabled movie, a movie that both praises and pokes fun at rednecks, or even a heartwarming movie in general, then this is for you!
In conclusion, I give “The Peanut Butter Falcon” a 9.5/10! Tell a friend!
The End!
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