Another Shia LaBeouf film? Yeah, you caught me. I like watching this guy. His career has had an odd, but entertaining trajectory. And as his recent films (including this one) have shown, he’s got exceptional talent in portraying flawed average joe types.
Peanut Butter Falcon is about a troubled fisherman, Tyler (LaBeouf), and a down syndrome patient who has recently escaped from an assisted living facility, Zak (Zack Gottsagen). They meet through happenstance and begin traveling together. Tyler is on the run from dangerous people he’s recently antagonized. Zak, spurred on by the advertisements on old VHS tapes, is on a journey to find the Salt Water Redneck, his wrestling hero, and join the veteran wrestler’s training program.
The relationship between Tyler and Zak grows throughout the film, and it’s one of the film’s strengths. LaBeouf’s character is, while very (self-)destructive, also very sympathetic. You want him to be able to recover from his past traumas and be his best self.
The references to wrestling are charming, along with its cameos (both Jake Roberts and Mick Foley make appearances). Zak’s unadulterated love of the performance art is endlessly entertaining, and it’s where the film’s title comes from.
However, it feels like the film doesn’t fully commit to its portrayal of professional wrestling. As someone who spent many years watching various wrestling promotions, the film feels flimsy at points. Professional wrestling is a partly-staged, partly-improvised athletic performance art. This will come as no news to the modern reader. But fiction sometimes still chooses to portray it as genuine competition. Either reality is fine, but the story needs to choose between staged or genuine. This film never quite commits either way. Some bits seem staged and some, real (the moment Zak eventually gets into the ring, things become very serious). This is one of two problems that weaken the final act.
The other problem involves forced romantic elements. Dakota Johnson plays a large part in the film, as the social worker who attempts to track Zak down after his disappearance. When she finally finds him, she is strongly opposed to the ongoing wrestling adventure. Until she just acquiesces. Her character starts off strong, with a sense of purpose and personality, but these are sanded off as the movie goes on so that she doesn’t get in the way of plot and can eventually become a romantic trophy for Tyler. The weak character writing here is strange since the other major characters don't fall apart in the same way.
There are also seemingly no long-term consequences for Tyler’s various destructive behaviors and endangerment of others, which I found unsatisfying. But the heart of the film is the relationship between Tyler and Zak, and how that closeness enriches both of their lives. So it’s for the best that it ends on a positive note.
The performances are good. It’s got feels. It’s got laughs. Give it a watch.
Plot: 6
Characters: 6
Themes: 6
Spectacle: 8
Overall score: It’s the biggest match of your career. Why? Because everything you stand for is on the line.
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