“The Peanut Butter Falcon,” a certified-fresh feel-good movie co-starring two WWE Hall of Famers, is heading to a wide release this weekend after a successful, critically acclaimed select-city rollout.
The film, written and directed by Tyler Nilson and Mike Schwartz, tells the story of Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a young man with Down Syndrome who runs away from his care home in order to pursue his dream of sports-entertainment glory. Shia LaBoeuf co-stars as the small-time outlaw who helps him along the way, Dakota Johnson plays a caretaker who joins on the trip, and Academy Award nominee Thomas Haden Church rounds out the cast as The Salt Water Redneck, whose wrestling school Zak hopes to attend. The film also features appearances from Academy Award nominees John Hawkes and Bruce Dern, as well as WWE Hall of Famers Mick Foley and Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
“The Peanut Butter Falcon” has been making waves recently in its limited release thanks to a 94% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, as of this writing. It was also the recipient of the 2019 SXSW Audience Award. LaBoeuf and Gottsagen, who is a noted WWE fan, recently appeared on “Good Morning America,” where Robin Roberts presented Gottsagen with a WWE Championship and revealed he would be attending WrestleMania 36. Check out the film in the trailer above, and for more info and tickets, take a look here. “The Peanut Butter Falcon” enters wide release today.