"The Peanut Butter Falcon"

 By Matt Duncan

Coastal View News

With most theaters still opting out of “in person” this fall, what counts as new in the movie biz is relative. Over the past months I have focused on movies that have started streaming relatively recently—that is, movies that you can watch in quarantine—as well as movies and T.V. shows that have received some recent buzz.

 

But, in the spirit of keeping it corona-fresh, here’s a new one: Recently released on airlines. I masked it up in the friendly skies this past weekend, and decided to watch a “new release”. If you’re like me, picking a movie on a plane is tough, because you’ve got a bunch of options, but without internet there’s no way to find out which ones are supposed to be good. I took a stab so you don’t have to.

 

Now showing on American Airlines: “The Peanut Butter Falcon” (those wary of flying needn’t worry—you can also stream this movie on Amazon Prime or Hulu).

 

The three main characters in this movie each have pain in their past and problems in their present. Zak’s (Zack Gottsagen) family abandoned him because he has Down’s syndrome, and, as the movie begins, he is stuck in an old folk’s home watching old wrestling videos all day because he has nowhere to go and no one to take care of him.

 

Except, perhaps, for Eleanor (Dakota Johnson). She works at the old folk’s home and keeps an eye on Zak. And she has to keep an eye on him, because Zak keeps trying to escape. Eleanor has her own tragic past, as it turns out, but now her most pressing struggle is to keep Zak safe and sound.

 

Tyler’s (Shia LaBeouf) most pressing struggle has nothing to do with Eleanor or Zak, at least not at first. He’s feuding with crabbers—that is, people who catch crabs—along the Carolina coastline. He steals their crabs, they get pissed, he complains that they stole his crabbing license, they don’t care, he damages their gear, they beat him up, and so on. Tyler’s brother used to look out for him, but now he’s dead, so Tyler is messed up and alone.

 

Then Zak mysteriously shows up on his boat. He (Zak) is wearing naught but tighty-whities. He finally escaped the retirement center and the first place he found to hide was Tyler’s boat. Tyler is on the run, so Zak is a major inconvenience. Still, even Tyler has enough of a heart to not just leave Zak to his own devices.

 

Once Tyler’s realizes that Zak is also on the run, they start to form a sort of bond. Tyler isn’t exactly all warm and fuzzy—at least not at first—but Zak starts to grow on him. They embrace their roles as outcasts.

 

Tyler is trying to get to Florida, but he agrees to first help Zak fulfill his ultimate dream: To find Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church), an old-school wrestler who once upon a time ran a wrestling school. Zak’s knowledge of this school is based entirely on an old VHS that he watched over and over in the old folks’ home. So it’s sort of a shot in the dark. But Tyler isn’t exactly in a rush. So off they go.

 

Meanwhile, Eleanor is desperate to find Zak. She wants what is best for him. However, as things play out, she is forced to reconsider what it is that’s best for Zak—and her.

 

One remarkable think about “The Peanut Butter Falcon” is that I did not hate Shia LaBeouf in it. In fact, if you really pressed me, I’d have to admit that I liked him. He does a great job playing a decent redneck with a rough exterior.

 

And then there’s Zack Gottsagen, who is amazing—if he doesn’t brighten your day, nothing will. Dakota Johnson’s performance a little less even. Still, overall this movie’s characters are clearly its heart and soul. And it has a lot of heart and soul. “The Peanut Butter Falcon” is not complex, or complicated, or heavy on plot, but it does what it does well.

 

It also deals with hard things without making the viewing experience a miserable slog. It feels light and uplifting, even when things get tense or tough. Which is a real virtue these days, at least in my book.

 

So if you’re flying out of town, or just want something to make you smile, “The Peanut Butter Falcon” is a good bet.

"Get Duked!"

 By Matt Duncan

Coastal View News

There I was, all ready to sit down with my family to watch Disney’s new live-action version of “Mulan”. We have a subscription to Disney Plus, so I thought we were good to go. Then, to my horror, I discovered that it costs an additional $30 to rent it! No way! My wife pointed out that Disney is probably losing a lot of money during the pandemic. Oh give me a break, Disney, you’ll be fine. She also pointed out that if we went to a theater, we would have paid at least $30. O.K., fine, whatever … I’m still not buying it.

 

Instead I sought out an outlet for my disgust—one that would also lighten the mood a bit. I decided on “Get Duked!”—the newly released British horror comedy. This movie is totally free on Amazon Prime (if you have a membership).

 

And I guess “Get Duked!” is kind of like “Mulan”. Both are coming-of-age tales—about becoming a capital-M Man—at least nominally. Though, instead of fighting the Huns, the main characters in “Get Duked!” fight British aristocracy. And these characters are not, hmmm, let’s say, as genteel as Mulan. They’re pretty crass. And the swordplay is much less elegant.

 

These main characters are four teenage boys. Three of them—Duncan (Lewis Gribben), Dean (Rian Gordon), and DJ Beatroot (Viraj Juneja)—are bad kids. They’re troublemakers, miscreants, delinquents, bad seeds. The fourth—Ian (Samuel Bottomley)—is a good kid, but too sheltered and childlike for his own good.

 

What brings this motley crew together is the Duke of Edinburgh Award. This is a trek across the Scottish highlands that teenage boys have been doing since bygone eras as a rite of passage. Get to the end of the trek, survive the perils of the wilderness, and you’re a Man. Or something like that.

 

At first things go exactly as you’d expect. They screw around, act like buffoons, whine and yell at each other, posture, fight, goof off, etc.

 

But then they see someone. It’s a very proper looking gentleman, adorned with fine leather boots, a handsome hunting jacket, and one of those Scottish golfing hats. The boys are bit far off, so they can’t be sure, but they think he sure looks like the Duke of Edinburgh.

 

The Duke (Eddie Izzard) also has a rifle—he’s out on a hunt. And what the boys could be forgiven for not realizing at first is that the Duke is hunting, not deer or pheasant or some other beast of the wild, but them.

 

The Duke shoots at them while taunting them with very high-society commentary about the youth and purity and aristocracy. The Duke is later joined by The Duchess (Georgie Glenn)—both wearing creepy masks and both tormenting the kids.

 

So what starts as a coming-of-age story quickly becomes a kind of strange horror movie involving aristocrats, and later anarchist farmers, pagan ritualistic symbols, and zombies.

 

The kids do their best to fend of the foes. They have some skills, but they’re not very bright. The local police seem to be onto something, but they’re even more incompetent and focused on the wrong things than the teenage boys (imagine that). So it’s sort of a race to the bottom for this skirmish between the youth, the old guard, and the hapless police.

 

“Get Duked!” is fun—amusing. The kids are sometimes annoying, but they can be boyishly charming too. And the setting—the Scottish highlands, with kids and masked-wearing nobles, with a backdrop of freestyle rap—is a unique set of flavors that adds some kick to the movie.

 

“Get Duked!” is also lazily trying to do something more—to be a kind of commentary on Brexxit and generational politics in Britain. But this layer of meaning is pretty limited. The movie itself doesn’t take it very seriously (not that it should), and I couldn’t detect anything particularly insightful there.

 

If I were more entertained by the antics of teenage boys, I suspect that I would have enjoyed this movie a lot more. But, I admit, I couldn’t really get into it. I guess you get what you pay for (or don’t pay for).