The Peanut Butter Falcon

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Thank you Lionsgate for sending us a Blu-ray, 2 t-shirts, and some peanut butter!

The Peanut Butter Falcon tells the story of Zak, a twenty-two year old young man with down syndrome who lives in a nursing home. He doesn’t like it there since he can’t relate to people who are generations older than him. However, he doesn’t have any other family to take care of him. Zak dreams of becoming a professional wrestler and tries to escape from the nursing home to live his life and make his dream a reality.

Eventually, Zak does break out from the nursing home with nothing on him but underwear. Zak stows himself away in a boat owned by Tyler (played by Shia LaBeouf). Tyler is a fisherman who doesn’t think twice about fishing in areas without being properly licensed. After destroying equipment from a competitor, he flees the scene of the crime in the boat that Zak is hiding in. Needless to say, it wasn’t a warm welcome when Zak was discovered.

Although their relationship was tense at first, the two men bond and help each other out. Since they are both being pursued, they’re constantly on the run. Tyler helps Zak follow his dream and teaches him important skills like swimming and how to shoot a rifle. Though Tyler is rough around the edges he’s got a good heart and tries to look out for Zak. With that said, he still manages to expose Zak to undesirable things like alcohol.

Zak doesn’t like to swear, but people around him will do so freely with almost every word used including the f-bomb. God’s name is taken in vain a couple of times as well. Wrestling is a violent sport and there is some blood shown and during one of the matches where a wrestler appears to lose at least one tooth. I think the PG-13 rating is fair and my tween/teenage kids enjoyed watching this film with us.

In the end, The Peanut Butter Falcon delivers a heart-warming story that’s bound to especially resonate with those who know someone with disabilities. While it’s unethical in execution at times, the overall theme of helping people achieve their dreams is admirable.

(Amazon Affiliate Link)