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This movie was frustrating because some of it was really good, but other parts either didn’t make sense, were not believable, or were underdeveloped. However, if you love a feel-good movie, you might be able to overlook those things, and fully enjoy this.

This is the story of two outsiders who bond while on an adventure, seeking to evade their pursuers. It is also the story of a young woman trying to do what is right for a patient whom she cares about. Zack Gottsagen plays Zack a young man with Down syndrome who escapes the Nursing home which he is stuck in(he has no family to care for him). His main wish in life is to meet and train with his wrestling hero the Salt Water Redneck. Shia LeBeouf plays a man on the run, escaping two crab fishermen he has crossed. And Dakota Johnson plays Eleanor, a woman who works for the Nursing home Zak has escaped from and who is tasked with finding him.

** Spoilers Ahead

The first half of the movie was strong and the storyline was great. The part with Blind Jasper John was one if my favorite parts of the movie. Zack and Shia have great on-screen chemistry and some heart-warming moments. My only gripe with this part of the movie, was that Tyler’s boat escape scene was not very convincing. He would have needed to be much further ahead of them to pull of hiding the way he did.

The movie seems to go off the rails a bit in the second half. Every choice Eleanor makes in the second half of the movie didn’t seem true to her character. I don’t think she would have hopped on that raft. I don’t think she would have let the trip keep going after Zak met his hero Salt Water Redneck. I don’t think she would have fallen for Tyler that quickly, and I don’t think she would have taken them to Florida, and become an accessory to everything. Other non believable things; The bad guys wouldn’t have just left even after getting a gun pulled on them. They would have at least retreated then tailed them, not just hope to catch up with them later. Zak picking Sam(Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts) up over his head wasn’t only not believable, but it looked ridiculous. I was half expecting it to be a dream sequence. What happened after Tyler got hit in the head, did the bad guys just leave. How do they think they are just going to go to Florida? They have a missing person, a badly injured person, and someone who had a life, bills etc, who is now most likely an accessory to at least one crime.

On a more positive note the acting was great. There were a couple of great small parts. Zak’s spirited roommate played by Bruce Dern, the previously mentioned Blind Jasper John, and the Salt Water Redneck played by Thomas Hayden Church ( I almost feel like they could have developed his aging former wrestler story a little more but it may have made the movie too long). It was also really uplifting to see someone with Down Syndrome co-star in a movie. Zack Gottsagen did a great job.

I have to give this movie 3/5 stars because, although some of it was really good, I felt bad story choices held it back from being great.

Reviewed by: Phillip Lane on April 26, 2020