Plot: After running away from a residential nursing home to pursue his dream of becoming a pro wrestler, a man who has Down syndrome befriends an outlaw who becomes his coach and ally.
Peanut Butter Falcon is a film I've been wanting to watch ever since I saw all of the insanely positive critical feedback. A lot of people have been telling me "You need to watch Peanut Butter Falcon" or "It's the best feelgood film of the year" but I wanted to keep my expectations low so I kind of ignored everything but after watching it I can say I agree with a lot of what everyone was saying!
Peanut Butter Falcon is truly a feelgood film done incredibly well, I mean it's the type of film that puts a smile on your face during the opening scene and you will probably find that smile stuck on your face for the rest of the film. The movie is a fast-paced, joyful and inspiring film about friendship and it works really well. The movie really relies on the relationship between the two characters Tyler and Zak but it works really well because they actually have incredible chemistry together. The friendship definitely feels real and genuine and because of this, you get very invested in the two characters and the journey they will be taking us on in the film.
You need to feel connected to these characters to really be invested in this movie and the film does a great job at creating that connection! The writing early on is a big reason why you are connected to these characters, the opening scene is genuinely funny and introduces us to Zaks's personality. After that they introduce some funny and likeable supporting characters but the moment they leave screen you never see them again, which kind of sucks because they actually left an impression with me but the movie does a great job at making it necessary for the growth of Zak as a character so as much as you like those characters you don't think about them enough to take you out of the film.
The cast is absolutely outstanding in this movie! Like everyone genuinely impressed me and I loved every minute of it. The two leads Shia LaBeouf and Zack Gottsagen were both incredible, they delivered some emotional, heartwarming and convincing performances that really helped sell this film. Without those incredible performances, this movie doesn't feel as genuine and doesn't work as well as it does. The supporting cast was great as well but the two standouts that especially stood out were Dakota Johnson and Bruce Dern, Bruce Dern was hilarious and Dakota Johnson definitely stole a couple of scenes. I don't think I could actually see anyone else tackling these roles that's how good this cast really was to me.
At the end of the day, I loved The Peanut Butter Falcon! It's funny, charming and full of heart! The Peanut Butter Falcon can make you cry tears of joy due to the overwhelming amount of human compassion delivered in this film. This is the kind of movie you watch when you want to feel good about just life in general. Definitely a fun and feel-good film that the whole family can enjoy! I thought the screenplay was great, the themes were solid, the story was captivating and I just thought the movie overall was a great and alluring experience.
I don't think that the pacing is horrible but it definitely has some issues, especially around the midway point for me and I also felt like the movies biggest problem was that it didn't go as far as I really wanted it to. There were some great ideas and moments but I wish some were expanded on and were explained further, I feel like the movie through away apart of it's soul for the sake of being more joyful then heavy and because of that I think it does lack a bit of more necessary story and seriousness that could've made The Peanut Butter Falcon not only a more complete story but even have these characters be more understood and powerful. I'd definitely recommend this movie, it's fun and something I think just anyone could enjoy.
Rating: 8.5/10
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