Name: Movie Review: The Peanut Butter Falcon
Item: The Peanut Butter Falcon
Author: @chekohler

Hey Steemovie Fans

I've had some free time to look through some movies lately and nothing seems appealing to watch these days, it's all reboots and more of the same done poorly. Movies are now about return on investment not about telling a story or entertaining us and giving us something to think and talk about afterwards.

Looking through the current line-up of movies that are being promoted nothing really stands out as something to watch. In my desperation, I went to search and came up with a pretty obscure movie but from the ratings and reviews, I thought I'd give it a shot.

Poster for The Peanut Butter Falcon - Image source - thehollywoodnews.com

What Is The Peanut Butter Falcon About?

The Peanut Butter Falcon is the story of a young man Zack with Down syndrome that through unfortunate events has no family and is forced into the care of at an old age home. Having had it with living and basically waiting to die, he runs away from a residential nursing home much to the distress of his primary caregiver, Eleanor who searches for him.

Zak leaves the home to pursue his dream of becoming a pro wrestler after watching a video type about a wrestling school. During his journey with no money, no pants and no idea how to get there he befriends an outlaw named Tyler who becomes his coach and ally.

Trailer for The Peanut Butter Falcon

What I thought of The Peanut Butter Falcon

Seeing Shia's character's Tyler's transformation just by being with the incredible presence of Zak brings authenticity to his performance. There is something raw and transformative in his role here that almost goes beyond the fictional on-screen character but almost seems to show his real-life turn.

The film centres around wrestling and how badly it's aged and how we as a society are quick to toss aside the magic and mystery we saw in our heroes and how the world strips us of those ideals. Wrestling has had its days in the early 90s but since then it has been seen as overly choreographed, gimmicked or even childish.

Since we know its "fake" we don't have that same attraction towards it and I think The Peanut Butter Falcon handles this very well, in discussing the theme of authenticity, dreams and beliefs. Incorporating Zak's childlike nature and imagination into the notion that in wrestling.

As we've progressed as a society we've also felt the need to over mollycoddle those we feel are being exploited and vulnerable and as a result we actually hurt these people in ways we may not understand. Zak is a 22-year-old man clearly capable of handling himself but years of being babied as left him frustrated.

Meeting Tyler is his first real-life experience where someone treats him as an adult, free to make his own choices and mistakes and to learn from them. He understands his actions have consequences and starts to grow as a person. While we see Tyler soften up around Zak's childlike enthusiasm and the two form an unlikely bond that takes them on a journey of self discovery.

The Peanut Butter Falcon smartly deals with this and presents it in a way that is so pure and heartfelt, overall it was a very enjoyable and feel-good type of movie. So, unless you hate having that warm fuzzy feeling that gives you that uncontrollable grin, this movie is for you.

Casting

I have to mention apart from Zack being the star of this movie I think his 2 co-stars did pretty well to bring the best out of him too.

I think the movie wonderfully cast Shia Labeouf and Dakota Johnson, both actors have faced their fair share of controversy. Dakota Johnson, known mostly from her involvement in the infamous fifty Shades of Grey franchise gets to show her reserved side and gives a sophisticated performance that washes away all the negative reputation from her previous film roles.

Shia Labeouf, on the other hand, has a much greater lesson learned from his involvement here. Starting off as a child actor and getting fame from being in the Transformers franchise, it has been a while since he has been in a major film role; becoming an internet meme certainly has not supported that downward spiral in his career.

My rating for The Peanut Butter Falcon

I also felt the film looked excellent with the gritty look and does a great job of capturing the swampy area of the North Carolina Outer Banks. You really feel like you're there dealing with the elements and feel how long and tough the journey is for our 2 heroes.

As for cons, I didn't really buy the ending of the film, It seemed a little far fetched for my tastes and doesn't wrap up the story very well but I did enjoy it overall. It will make you laugh, it will make you sad and if a movie can make you feel something, then it's doing its job.

I really enjoyed this film for what it represented and a story about belief, family and the pureness of hearts. If this film is playing in your town go check it out or see it online, I'll have to give this movie 7 atomic throws out of 10

For more on the movie check out reviews at: