Zak (Zack Gottsagen) is a 22-year-old with Down syndrome who resides in a care facility in Richmond, Virginia. Unhappy there and dreaming of becoming a professional wrestler, Zak escapes one night with the help of his elderly housemate Carl (Bruce Dern) and stows away on a fishing boat, where the next day Tyler (Shia LaBeouf) encounters him. Tyler's a fisherman and criminal on the run who obviously has the same idea of escaping in the boat and now, of course, his and Zak's paths have crossed so they must join forces and connect. Once they do connect, Tyler takes Zak under his wing and agrees to help Zak on his road trip to meet his hero, wrestler the Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church), who runs a wrestling school. All the while, Zak's support worker Eleanor (Dakota Johnson) has hit the road to find him.
I was very keen to see The Peanut Butter Falcon, dealing as it does with disability and a coming-of-age narrative, but I must say I was quite disappointed once I finally did. Debutant writer-directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz here tell a story that is thoroughly sympathetic but, to my mind, predictable and deeply sycophantic. Also, while it avoids stereotypes in its portrayal of Down syndrome, I couldn't say as much for its bildungsroman narrative; I was reminded just slightly too much of wild-youth tales like Lord of the Flies and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, classics though both of those indisputably are, instead of a genuinely original narrative. There is also one scene with an African-American woodsman whose depiction felt questionable at best (and at worst, borderline racist) for me.
Gottsagen, LaBeouf and Johnson all give enjoyable, natural turns and have strong chemistry together but unfortunately, for me the peanut butter in this falcon wasn't crunchy enough for me.
Gottsagen, LaBeouf and Johnson all give enjoyable, natural turns and have strong chemistry together but unfortunately, for me the peanut butter in this falcon wasn't crunchy enough for me.
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