“The Peanut Butter Falcon”

This is a really sweet film that probably very few people saw in the theater. Zack Gottsagen is a young man with Down Syndrome who because of over crowding is placed in a nursing home opposed to a facility where many patients are treated. He’s been there for quite a long time and is itching to escape to go and find his wrestling idol and enroll in his school. He makes his roomie played by Bruce Dern watch this wrestling video every day. Dern helps him escape and he eventually runs into a fisherman with a huge debt (Shia Labeouf in one of his best roles). They form an unlikely bond and travel together to find this school. Dakota Johnson, who is one of Zach’s friends at the clinic is assigned to find Zach and bring him back. The movie works because Zach is so charming and just eats up the screen. You just root for him. You want this guy to find his idol. There is a lot of “Rain Man” in this movie. Two companions, one with special needs the other is a bit gruff who need each other in different ways and discover a bond. Dakota Johnson fits in well as she eventually falls for Shia’s character, reluctantly. There is some violence in the film since Shia owes some real bad dudes some money and they are on his trail. I liked this movie very much. It’s not all that original, but it’s a nice feel good story. I hope people will seek this film out.

Rating: (***1/2)