This past weekend, a friend and I headed to the theater to see a movie neither of us knew much about: The Peanut Butter Falcon, which was written and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz. (Don’t worry. There are no spoilers in this post.) Shia LaBeouf, Zack Gottsagen, and Dakota Johnson are the stars of this drama/adventure. Though Shia LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson are more well known and are very compelling in this, the main draw of the film is Zack Gottsagen, an actor with Down syndrome—only the second time I’ve seen representation onscreen like this, the first being a TV show called Life Goes On. Zack plays Zak (yes, Zak), a young man who fervently hopes to become a professional wrestler, a fact you learn in the trailer.
The film premiered at the South by Southwest film festival this past March. As my friend and I discussed the movie afterward, we talked about how these days we’ve seldom seen such a heartfelt journey story, one that critics describe as Mark Twain-esque—a very apt description. We were impressed by the messages of the film—follow your dreams; treat others with grace and dignity even if it means going the extra mile for that person. (By the way, what dream are you following?)
In a day when many are pilloried on social media, and spewing hateful comments is deemed a fundamental right, I can’t help being inspired by a pair of director/writers who chose to present an alternative to negativity. (Click here to see an interview with the actors.)
I can’t think of a better segue to a giveaway of some books by Jill Weatherholt, an author whose goal also is to provide an alternative to negativity. I interviewed her in my last post, which you can find here.
The winner of A Mother for His Twins (which would sound really funny if you heard someone say this out of context) is Lyn!
The winners of the Autumn Hearts anthology are Charles and Clare!
Winners, please comment below to confirm. Thank you to all who commented.
Having been inspired by The Peanut Butter Falcon, Tia Tigerlily has made a practice of giving at least one affirmation a day to her mini-me, whose dream is to own a flower shop someday.
Peanut Butter Falcon poster from justjared.com. Book covers from Jill Weatherholt and Goodreads. Author photo courtesy of Jill Weatherholt. Other photo by L. Marie. Tia Tigerlily Shoppie doll is a product of Moose Toys.
Speaking of peanut butter, I’m thinking it’s quite popular in America? On this side of the pond I don’t know anyone who eats it.
I always read of people in Stephen King novels drinking root beer. Would that be like sarsaparilla?
Hi, Andy! Yes peanut butter is very popular here, especially thanks to Reese’s peanut butter cups. 😀
I’ve had sarsaparilla and root beer. They share a similar origin, I’ve heard.
This sounds like a great movie, L. Marie. I appreciate the review. Congratulations to the winners! Thank you again for being such a wonderful hostess, L. Marie! xo
Glad to do so, Jill. 😀
I’d like to see the Peanut Butter Falcon, but not sure where to find it here. In theatres, on Netflix? I agree with Jill: You are a wonderful hostess, always promoting the good. Thank you for all this, L. Marie!
Hi, Marian. I’m not sure how wide a release the movie has. Not many theaters in my area have showings. It will probably come to Netflix at some point. 😀
Congrats to Lyn, Charles and Claire!
I remember well ‘Life Goes On’ and loved Corky, mostly cuz he was a stinker at times! HA!
Anyway, I like your statement: “In a day when many are pilloried on social media, and spewing hateful comments is deemed a fundamental right, I can’t help being inspired by a pair of director/writers who chose to present an alternative to negativity.”
I will look this movie up for sure…thanks for the heads-up. (or should I say ‘thumbs-up’? yikes, I guess I’m in an odd mood!)
I hope you can find it, Laura. Not many places around here have it. It’s getting lost among the other new releases. But I enjoyed it. It’s not a perfect film. But I loved the character study aspects. 😀
I’m like you in that I often find things in bits of music or novels or movies that stand out in importance that might go overlooked by others just because it’s not on their radar…
So true, Laura! It’s great to see things that are encouraging! I love passing those on to others.
Thanks for the recommendation, LM. I just added The Peanut Butter Falcon to our Netflix queue. I had seen a trailer for it and wasn’t sold because it seemed improbable, unlikely, and farfetched. But many dreams are. Here’s to enjoying an alternative to negativity! 😀
Congrats to the winners!
Great, Nancy! Glad to see it will come to Netflix. Marian was just asking about it.
The movie definitely depicts an unusual scenario. But it will take you on an adventure. We sorely need those. 😀
Congratulations to the lucky winners. 🙂
Thanks for this review, L. Marie. I just checked and The Peanut Butter Falcon is at quite a few theaters in my neck of the woods. I’ll try to catch it on your compelling recommendation. Life Goes On was a “must watch” every week in our house. Our girls were young, but, mature enough to appreciate it. It was groundbreaking for its time and we all loved Corky. I’ll mention this to our Katy. The grands are at good ages for this and I know Katy would appreciate it.
Yes we loved Cork! 😀
The movie is PG-13 for a reason. It has some violence and language. A mom dropped her daughter off, thinking the movie was okay for her, but her daughter was very upset during it.
Thanks for the forewarning about the movie. Katy and Tom are pretty good about checking movies out first, but, maybe I’ll try to see it first so I’ll have some reference.
Good plan, Penny!
Thank you! I really wanted to read that book, as I’ve enjoyed several books about twins lately. And thank you for calling my attention to The Peanut Butter Falcon. I’m going to look for it on Netflix now, if it’s not still in the theaters.
It’s still in theaters. I’m not sure when it will come to Netflix.
I’ll look for this movie. I’ve never heard of it, but the idea of intentionally making a positive movie sounds absolutely subversive in the context of our times. 😉
It certainly does! Shia LaBeouf seemed very different before this movie. He’s much more mellow.
He credits working on this movie for some of that change.
Thank you so much, L. Marie! I would love to receive the novella but… I live in the UK. Would you be sending me the actual novella or the e-book version. Postage might be expensive for you?
I will definitely look out for The Peanut Butter Falcon.
I meant to add, that if you aren’t able to send the novella to me that’s okay, please nominate someone else. Also I would be happy to reimburse you any money you spend in postage.
Clare, do you have a Kindle or the Kindle app? I believe the novella comes from Amazon and is an ebook.
Yes I do. I hadn’t realised it was an e-book! Thanks Linda, I have a Kindle app.
Great! I had it sent through Amazon! Please let me know if it doesn’t come through.
I will do! Thank you very much!
You’re welcome! 😄
It has arrived xx
Yay! Great! 😀
Congratulations to Lyn, Charles, and Clare. It’s nice to see a movie with a heartfelt message. Did you cry?
My friend did. I came close more than once though.
There was a series with a recurring Downs Syndrome person in it over here a few years ago, but I can’t bring the name of it to mind at the moment. Intriguingly, his Downs Syndrome was treated as incidental rather than central most of the time and I found that very refreshing. We’ll never really have “diversity” until we start treating “minorites” as “normal” – gosh, so many buzzwords in that sentence – sorry! 😉
I know what you mean, FictionFan! Very well put! If you think of the name of the show, please let me know. 😀
Thanks for the movie review, L. Marie! I’ll have to look it up too. So much on Netflix and other streaming media is dark and foreboding. Usually I’m fine with that (I do watch weird stuff, according to my husband), but these days, I need an antidote to the daily news!
I know it is in a limited run at theaters. Not sure when it will be on Netflix. It has some dark moments though. But you’ll appreciate the setting. 😃