Netflix Gets One Of The Most Heartwarming Quirky Comedies In Decades, Don’t Miss This
Peanut Butter Falcon is a drama-comedy released in 2019. It’s a heartwarming tale about a man with Down syndrome who is focused on his goal and is more than happy to take risks to reach his dream. This isn’t a movie you’ll forget about anytime soon after watching it.
The Set Up
The story focuses on a boy named Zak, a young man with Down syndrome who runs away several times from a care facility because he wants to be a professional wrestler.
As he’s running away, he meets Tyler, who is down on his luck after getting fired due to catching crabs illegally.
The two end up becoming close, though slowly, and decide to go on an adventure together. Meanwhile, Zak’s caretaker, Eleanor, is on the hunt for Zak, trying to get him back to the facility and make sure he’s safe.
Though they at first disagree about Zak’s future, Tyler and Eleanor work together to help Zak reach his dreams and meet his hero.
A Well Received Drama-Comedy
The Peanut Butter Falcon manages to raise awareness for disabilities and those with disabilities. The movie ended up popular enough to help open up conversations about Down syndrome and the needed push for advocacy and inclusivity for all sorts of disabilities in society.
The Peanut Butter Falcon is one of those rare movies where critics and audience members agree. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a critic score of 95 percent and an audience score of 96 percent.
The Cast
Candice McMillan, one of the critics on Rotten Tomatoes, had this to say after watching the movie. “A Southern fairy tale that takes the familiar and imbues it with 21st century life … The simple story, the flawed characters, the highly fantastical and often mythicized location work together to produce a film that is beautiful in its smallness.”
In addition to a great plot, The Peanut Butter Falcon has an amazing cast. Zack Gottsagen (Best Summer Ever) plays Zak, Shia Labeouf (Transformers) plays Tyler, and Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Gray) plays Eleanor.
In addition to these main characters, you also have Thomas Haden Church (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Bruce Dern (The Hateful Eight), Jon Bernthal (the Wolf of Wall Street), and John Hawkes (The Sessions) as some of the supporting characters.
The Creators
The movie is directed and written by Tyler Nilson (The Moped Diaries) and Michael Schwartz (Los Frikis). If you’ve never heard their names before, that’s because The Peanut Butter Falcon was their directorial film debut. Their inspiration came from the classic Huckleberry Finn, and it’s easy to see traces of the story throughout the film, even if it’s a loose inspiration.
The story really came to life, however, when the two directors met Zack Gottsagen while at a camp. He mentioned that he’d always wanted to be a movie star. Wanting to help Zack’s dreams come to life, Tyler and Michael made the script of The Peanut Butter Falcon solely for him, blending reality and fiction together.
Stream It Now
Not only did Zack get a chance to be a movie star because of this movie, but he actually became the first individual with Down syndrome to present an Academy Award. The movie handled disabilities beautifully, to the point it received a Seal of Authentic Representation for accurate depictions of people with disabilities by the Ruderman Family Foundation.
If you want to watch this heartwarming tale, you’ll find The Peanut Butter Falcon on Netflix. This is a film definitely worth watching if you’re looking for something to warm your heart and make you laugh.
