Mark Twain is largely credited with writing the first great American novel, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, about a boy on the run having adventures along the Mississippi River. Peanut Butter Falcon is the modern retelling of a similar fable, featuring a man with Downs Syndrome, Shia Laboeuf, and backyard wrestling. Like Twain’s original novel, on the surface this story appears stupid, but underneath it uncovers a host of deep feelings and emotional profundity while crab fishing along the Carolina coastline.
Events are pushed into motion by Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a ward of the state stuck in a retirement home because no one knows where to put him. Zak has but one dream, to train with his favorite wrester, the Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church) down in Florida. After repeated attempts to escape his prison, he finally does, and goes on the run. Circumstances lead him to pair up with Tyler (Shia Laboeuf), a man also on the run but for his own past sins especially toward fisherman Duncan (John Hawkes). The pair form an alliance to go to that wrestling school together, while being chased by Duncan and Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), who works at Zak’s retirement home and wants him back.
The parallels between Huck/Jim’s story and Tyler/Zak’s story are pretty easy to see, but no less powerful. Eleanor could very well be Miss Watson of the novel, trying to “sivilize” Zak by putting him where the state thinks he belongs. Tyler, like Huck, has a zest for living and will sometimes ruffle feathers to live the life he chooses to. The journey is also regionally specific, taking us through specific portions of the south, like a blind god fearing gun owner, or the backyard wrastling crew. I think there might be one or two cell phone shots and a TV, but Peanut Butter Falcon feels like a fable that could be told to generations of children for years and years, out of time, but perennially relevant.
The heart of the story though is Tyler and Zak’s personal and emotional journey together, Rain Man meets Thelma and Louise. Both are prisoners in some form. Zak’s is obviously literal; Tyler’s is emotional, closed off since the loss of his brother. In each other, the bars slowly dissolve away. When Eleanor eventually tracks them down, Tyler and Zak have a series of riveting conversations about his future, with the booksmart but condescending Eleanor achieving newfound perceptive and Tyler revealing a depth of intelligence missing on the surface of his personality. LaBoeuf and Johnson are both really good here, probably as good as they’ve ever been. However, Zack Gottsagen will get the most attention, deservedly so. Shia Laboeuf and he are so charming together it makes you wonder why no one ever used Gottsagen in a movie, and hope that he gets more acting jobs because he’s so fun.
Peanut Butter Falcon takes its message to heart. Everyone’s gonna die, all that matters is if you’ve done something worth writing or talking about. Zack Gottsagen certainly has taken that message to heart, living out his dream of playing a wrestler and acting in a big movie. Now get gets to live out rule #1 in Peanut Butter Falcon. PARTY!!!