“The Peanut Butter Falcon” is about a young man, named Zak (Zack Gottsagen), who has down syndrome and is forced to live in a retirement home because he has no family to take care of him.

Zak has a dream of going to The Salt Water Redneck’s (Thomas Haden Church) professional wrestling school. He runs away from the nursing home in pursuit of his dreams, to become a professional wrestler named The Peanut Butter Falcon, when he meets Tyler (Shai LaBeouf) who is in trouble with the law. Together they will, fish, hunt, drink, train, and sail forging an unbreakable bond. During this time Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), a volunteer nursing home employee, is tasked with returning Zak to the nursing home or else she is fired.

This film is phenomenal. The storytelling is very beautiful. It shows the harsh reality of how some people in the world treat people with exceptionalities while also showing the kindness that some people have in their heart. The story will take the moviegoers on an emotional rollercoaster, from the opening till the credits.

The writing will instantly tug at the heart strings of the audience. They will become emotionally connected to Zak and Tyler as if they have been apart of their lives for forever. The audience will route for the boys in their hopes to get to the wrestling school.

The acting is superb. Gottsagen does an excellent job at portraying his character. LaBeouf balances the line of criminal and mentor very well. Johnson does a great job at excellent job at playing Zak’s caregiver. Church’s performance as The Salt Water Redneck brings a smile to everyone’s face for the kindness he shows Zak.

The score of this deepens the realistic quality of this film. It allows for a more, emotion provoking experience for the audience.

The history of how this film was made, makes the movie even more special. The actor, Gottsagen, had complained that there are no roles in Hollywood for people with down syndrome. The writer, director duo, Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, heard his complaint and wrote a movie around Gottsagen’s likes and dislikes, for him to star in.

This film helps bring a spotlight to issues that are still happening today. People with down syndrome are still not treated equally by everyone. There are still many misunderstandings about down syndrome, but this film helps bring awareness to these problems.

I enjoyed the movie. Zak and Tyler’s journey is one that I was hoping would never end. I was shocked by how fantastic the movie was. I highly recommend this film to anyone over the age of thirteen due to a lot of language throughout this film. This film has something for everyone to enjoy. “The Peanut Butter Falcon” is now available for DVD and streaming on Hulu. I rate this film a 4.5 out of 5 tiger paws.