Movie review
August 9, 2019 · 97 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The Peanut Butter Falcon is a 2019 independent buddy adventure comedy-drama about a young man with Down syndrome who escapes a nursing home to chase his dream of professional wrestling and forms an unlikely friendship with a down-on-his-luck crab fisherman during a journey through rural North Carolina. The film centers on themes of personal freedom, friendship, aspiration, and human connection in a straightforward Southern setting. It uses authentic casting for its lead and avoids any visible political, ideological, or identity-driven messaging.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Peanut Butter Falcon.
Woke representation / casting
Authentic casting of an actor with Down syndrome in the central role fits the story premise naturally with no apparent quotas, swaps, or identity signaling beyond the character's disability.
Woke political dialogue
The narrative avoids explicit political talk or activist rhetoric, focusing instead on personal relationships and individual goals.
Identity-driven story themes
Disability shapes the protagonist's challenges and dreams but is handled as part of individual character development and friendship rather than group identity or social justice themes.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The restrictive nursing home setting highlights bureaucracy limiting freedom, presented as a personal obstacle without tying into modern systemic critiques of capitalism, patriarchy, or identity-based oppression.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No documented anti-woke or right-leaning complaints accusing the film of pushing DEI, identity politics, or activist messaging; it was instead welcomed by some conservative voices as traditional and uplifting.
Creator track record context
Key creatives show no strong history of identity-driven or activist projects; producers have mild progressive indie leanings through social-themed stories but nothing centered on DEI, representation-first, or queer activism.
Production
