Parents' Guide to

The Fall Guy

Movie PG-13 2024 126 minutes
The Fall Guy Movie Poster: Ryan Gosling on a stunt contraption, with Emily Blunt in a car below

Common Sense Media Review

Tara McNamara By Tara McNamara , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

High-octane smiles in stunt romcom; action violence, drugs.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 13+

Based on 17 parent reviews

age 13+

A fun movie!

I’m a parent who is quite particular about the movies my young teenager watches in terms of language, gore, and sexism. We watched this movie and loved it! Yes, there’s violence but half of it is depicted as stunt scenes for a movie, with safety gear and so on, and the rest is over-the-top, comic book-style stuff. Not gory. There is a brief shot of a dead body (no visible injuries). There’s a drug dealer who spikes the main character’s drink and he starts seeing unicorns. There’s no sex or nudity. There are a few middle fingers given, some of them in a comical way by an alien. I’m sure there is swearing, but I can’t remember any particular instances of it off-hand, so it wasn’t anything excessive or shocking. There are strong female characters. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are great! If you’re fine with your kids watching Marvel movies, you’ll likely be totally fine with this one.
age 11+

Awesome!

Loved this movie! Had swearing and some fighting. No sex, just kissing. Funny and a lot of action. Some romance too. Saw with my 11 yo and he liked it. Fun summer movie.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (17 ):
Kids say (26 ):

Director David Leitch's reimagining of the 1980s TV series starring Lee Majors is a kick, a happy adrenaline rush that's a fun pick for families with teens to watch together. You can absolutely enjoy it without having ever seen the original show, but fans should be assured that Leitch brings back what matters: the reveal of the grueling, dangerous work that stunt performers do to entertain us and the easy, casual cool of Colt Seavers. Colt, who's as aspirational as it gets (especially as played by Gosling), is also a great role model because he's effortlessly humble. It feels like humility is a quality that entertainment seems to have forgotten in recent years—a lapse that's spilled over into real life, too. But as the catchy theme song goes (here performed with energetic verve by Blake Shelton), a stunt performer knows: "I might fall from a tall building, I might roll a brand-new car, because I'm the unknown stuntman, who made Redford such a star."

Other than Colt and Jody, the characters are comedically exaggerated and the story isn't based in reality. This is another nod to the silliness of '80s action TV—remember, this was the era of Mr. T and Kitt the talking car. But the plot doesn't really matter all that much. Instead, Leitch offers moviegoers a peek of what life is like on set—including laughing at the earned characteristics of those in certain roles (the frazzled, diet soda-slurping producer, the egomaniac movie star, the assistant director who manages through threats, etc.). And he gives gives us the joy of feeling like we're part of the film crew, riding wires, dodging bullets, and laughing alongside Colt. Yes, it's maybe a little goofy, but The Fall Guy is also just so much fun.

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