Nothing satisfies the demand for artistically excellent and divertingly pleasurable entertainment so well as The Peanut Butter Falcon, a gentle, small film available for streaming on Hulu and Netflix. Since its release nearly two years ago, the film has been enthusiastically greeted for its charm, warmth, and likability. It will undoubtedly give a boost to one’s spirits and bring some welcome joy to one’s life.
Peanut Butter Falcon focuses on Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a young man with Down syndrome who feels trapped in the senior citizen institution to which he has been unfairly confined and whose one great ambition is to attend a wrestling school operated by his hero, Salt Water Redneck. Zak repeatedly plays an old tape of his hero, as a result of which he himself yearns to become a wrestling star. Escaping from the institution, Zak eventually meets Tyler (Shia LaBeouf), himself a lonely wanderer attempting to escape from men whom he has angered.
Zak and Tyler become friends, and what follows is a charming riff on the “buddy movie” genre as their journey, clearly inspired by Huckleberry Finn, takes them through a number of adventures and a raft trip on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. They are eventually joined by a caregiver, Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), who is tasked with bringing Zak back to the institution.
It’s a simple plot, which writer/directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz handle with delicacy and skill. They not only draw superb performances from the skilled leading and supporting actors but film the events with amazing artistry: sights and sounds and a delightful musical background turn the film into a memorable visual and aural experience as beguiling as the engaging story.
Of course, the film has also been given enormous and well-deserved credit for casting a challenged actor in the role of Zak. Gottsagen’s performance will win over everyone who views the film. This film is clearly determined to handle its subject matter with dignity and honesty and without condescension.
If you haven’t yet seen this endearing film, hasten to do so – and you don’t have to leave the house to do it.
