The Peanut Butter Falcon | 2019 | PG-13 | – 3.5.5

Why is “The Peanut Butter Falcon” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “thematic content, language throughout, some violence and smoking.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a kissing scene and some cleavage revealing outfits and a young man wearing only underwear in several scenes; a couple of fight scenes, many threats of violence against a man, threats with guns, and physical violence, a wrestling match with bloody wounds shown, teasing and name-calling a person with Down Syndrome; and at least 2 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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A modern version of Huck Finn: A young man with Down Syndrome (Zack Gottsagen) living in a state-run care home is determined to become a famous wrestler and breaks out of the facility to attend wrestling school. A small time outlaw (Shia LaBeouf) on the run and a nursing home employee (Dakota Johnson) tasked with returning the runaway become his unlikely companions as they travel down rivers on a raft. Also with John Hawkes, Thomas Haden Church and Bruce Dern. Directed by Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz. [Running Time: 1:33]

The Peanut Butter Falcon SEX/NUDITY 3

 – A man and a woman kiss in a car (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details). A man touches a woman’s shoulder and she embraces his hand. A man flirts with a woman he has just met and asks for her phone number; she declines and leaves. A woman and a young man dance (she is teaching him).
► A young man strips to his briefs and slathers himself with hand soap (we see his bare chest, abdomen, back and full legs) to escape a retirement home (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details). A woman wears low-cut tops and dresses in several scenes throughout the movie. A shirtless man works on a boat (we see his bare chest, abdomen and back). A man’s shorts sag in the back revealing his upper buttock cleavage. A man urinates into water and we see his bare upper buttocks. A woman’s top reveals part of her bare abdomen and her skirt lifts to show her legs to the mid-thighs.
► A man describes a young man as being “half-naked.”

The Peanut Butter Falcon VIOLENCE/GORE 5

 – Two men punch and kick another man on the ground, and then kick dirt in his face (we see him drool a little as he tries to collect himself). A boy yells at a young man on a diving platform goading him to jump in water below and the young man refuses; a man yells from the ground saying that the young man can’t swim, the boy pushes him into the water and the other man dives in and pulls him out after punching the boy in the face (we see him stumble back but no injuries are shown). A man wakes up to find his raft in flames and two men outside a shack where he is sleeping hold a gun on him, telling him to choose which hand they will shoot until a young man from inside the shack comes out pointing a shotgun at them (they disperse yelling threats). A man slams another man in the head with a crow bar (we see him winding up and the screen goes black); we see the hospital and later the injured man with blackened eyes and a bloody bandage on his head.
► A wrestling match takes place and we see one wrestler hitting another on the head with a metal folding chair (we see blood on the head and face of one of the opponents), and they throw each other with loud thuds and punch and knee each other. In a wrestling match, one wrestler throws the other, squeezes his face in his hand and slams him in the head before the other wrestler grabs him and throws him out of the ring.
► A man with a handgun comes out of a shack yelling at another man and a young man rooting through his possessions; he identifies himself as blind and says that he can smell that the other two are white after shooting at them and asks if they are God fearing. A man pulls a rope attached to a young man wrapped with large plastic bags filled with air on a river to get from one side to the other; a large shrimp boat barrels down on them as the first man tries to swim faster and he pulls on the rope to pull the young man out of the boat’s path (there are no injuries). A woman eating her lunch in a retirement home begins to choke and is assisted by staff (she was faking to make a distraction), allowing a young man to run out the front door of the home, where he is quickly tackled by security (we hear a thud and see no injuries).
► A man covers a pile of crab pots with gasoline and sets them ablaze before running to his boat and speeding away on the water; he is chased by two other men on another boat and the first man hides in tall water grass undetected. A man holds a knife to a young man’s face and covers his mouth to keep him quiet. A man shoots a shotgun into the bottom of a boat that he abandons in the water to sink it. A flashback shows a man falling asleep while driving and swerving across the center line of a dark road (it is implied that his brother might have been killed in the ensuing accident, but we do not see it).
► A young man dangles his head over the side of a raft to practice holding his breath and comes up with a large fish in his hand. A man teaches a young man how to shoot a shotgun: the young man takes aim and is thrown back onto railroad tracks when the gun discharges.
► A man pulls crab pots out of the water and cuts lines stealing the crabs inside to sell. A young man sneaks, wearing only briefs, through a fish yard onto a dock and hides under a tarp in a motor boat. A man bends security bars making space for a young man to squeeze through; the young man slathers his body with hand soap and pushes through, landing on the ground outside (there are no injuries). A few scenes from professional wrestling matches are shown on TV with throws and slamming on mats (no injuries shown). A man dunks a young man in water while performing a baptism. A young man lifts a heavy log and pushes it over after drinking liquor from a bottle. A young man, a man and a woman swing on a long rope off a derelict rig and jump in water.
► A man chases another man along a dock and yells, “You’re a dead man.” A man yells at another man for stealing crabs from a competitor’s crab pots, fires him and tells him that the other man will beat him up over this. A man talks about hitting a hornet’s nest when he was a boy and being stung repeatedly in the face (he describes his face and swelling). A man tells a young man to go into a wrestling ring “aggressive,” and that he should say something “evil” to his opponent; he also tells him that if he starts bleeding he should smear the blood on his face and hands. A man tells a woman that a young man will be transferred to a high-risk center and she protests saying that there are serious offenders there. A woman tells a young man that she will have to label him a “flight risk” because he has attempted to run away from a retirement home too many times. A woman tells a young man that he has lost his privileges for trying to run away. We understand that a man’s brother died in an accident. A young man tells a man that he is scared and can’t swim as they walk along a sandbar in the ocean. A man talks about his wife being “long gone.” A woman says that she is a widow. A young man asks a man, “Am I gonna die?” A young man talks about his family having left him and that it must mean that he is a “bad guy.”
► Men install security bars on a window to keep a young man from running away. A man drives a car and swerves in dirt throwing dust in the air. People in a retirement home are shown seated in wheelchairs in a common area. An alligator floats in a body of water. Several people in a car growl and yell as they speed along a road. A man and a woman kiss in a car and the man handcuffs the woman to the steering wheel (she yells and breaks open the chain using pliers).
► A man hiding in the back of a motorboat vomits twice after a bumpy ride (we hear him gagging and coughing and see goo and food particles on his face). A man spits in a few scenes (we see saliva). A man scales fish in a fishery. A man and a young man throw watermelon meat at each other. A man urinates into water (we do not see stream). A young man smears peanut butter on his face as part of a costume.

The Peanut Butter Falcon LANGUAGE 5

 – About 2 F-words, 2 obscene hand gestures, 38 scatological terms, 12 anatomical terms, 16 mild obscenities, name-calling (retard, Saltwater Redneck, criminal, bandits, bad guy, primitive gang, stupid little punk, genius, Lord of the Flies, grumpy, wild man), exclamations (shut-up, are you kidding me, oh man), 4 religious profanities (GD), 13 religious exclamations (e.g. Oh God, Christ, Swear To God, God, Jesus, Oh My God, Holy [scatological term deleted]). | profanity glossary |

The Peanut Butter Falcon SUBSTANCE USE

 – A man swigs from a bottle of homebrewed alcohol and gives another man the rest of the bottle, people are shown drinking and smoking in a bar, a woman drinks a beer from a bottle, a man holds an open beer bottle and has a lit cigarette dangling out of his mouth, and two men drink from a bottle of liquor and one appears inebriated before passing out and falling on the ground. A hand rolls and smokes cigarettes in many scenes throughout the movie, and a man smokes a cigarette and flicks the butt out his car window.

The Peanut Butter Falcon DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Down Syndrome, family, abandonment, friendship, freedom, dreams, heroes, disappointment, death of loved ones, kidnapping, self-destructive behavior, trespassing, fixed fights.

The Peanut Butter Falcon MESSAGE

 – Family can be found in unusual places. Believe in yourself.