Ford v Ferrari parents guide

Ford v Ferrari Parent Guide

With something for everyone, this pulse-pounding popcorn pic is sure to be one of the biggest hits of the year.

Overall B+

When the Ford company decides to mount a challenge to Ferrari's dominance at the Le Mans race, they turn to engineer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles to make it happen. Unfortunately, Ford's bureaucracy might be the biggest problem they face.

Release date November 15, 2019

Violence B
Sexual Content A
Profanity C
Substance Use C

Why is Ford v Ferrari rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Ford v Ferrari PG-13 for some language and peril

Run Time: 152 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) has an idea. The rising young Ford executive wants teenage Baby Boomers to perceive Ford cars as cool; not as stodgy family vehicles with declining market share. To reach this goal, Iacocca urges Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) to develop a racing division that can compete in Europe. Ford is dismissive, until a personal insult from Italian racecar maker Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone) stings his pride. Determined to beat Ferrari at his own game, Ford gives Iacocca carte blanche to hire whomever he needs to defeat the Italian on the fabled Le Mans course.

In Iacocca’s mind, the best man for the job is Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon), the only American to have won at LeMans, now sidelined by a heart condition. And Shelby is convinced that the best driver is Ken Miles (Christian Bale), a stubborn, temperamental Englishman whose racing career was derailed by his military service in World War II. Shelby and Miles find themselves struggling on two fronts: first, to develop the fastest car in the world; and second, to survive the constant corporate infighting among the Ford executives. You would be right to wonder which will prove to be the most difficult.

Ford v Ferrari blasts onto the screen and keeps racing throughout its (gulp) 152 minute run time. For car lovers, this is the Bugatti of cinema: fast, fun, mesmerizing, and slightly terrifying at high speed. Even if you, like me, aren’t interested in cars and get bored during the race scenes, this movie offers drama between larger-than-life characters, excellent acting, a tense true story, a gut-punch of a plot twist, laugh out loud comedy, and heart-rending moments. With something for everyone, this pulse-pounding popcorn pic is sure to be one of the biggest hits of the year.

Luckily, this film comes with little in the way of negative content. There are moments of extreme peril due to the nature of high speed racing, with cars crashing and exploding. But the biggest drawback to this film is profanity, with approximately 40 uses of crude language, including a single sexual expletive.

To counterbalance the swearing, Ford v Ferrari is chock full of positive themes. Messages about persistence, ingenuity, bouncing back from setbacks, never quitting, and demonstrating courage and loyalty abound in the story. There’s even a subplot involving Miles’ homelife, which depicts a warm and loving family and (rarely shown in movies) an affectionate and involved father who enjoys spending time with his son. With so much constructive content, there really aren’t any risks for teens and adults in seeing this film… unless you have a small bladder or a large drink – in which case its bladder-busting run time might force you to take a premature pit stop.

Directed by James Mangold. Starring Matt Damon, Christian Bale, and Caitriona Balfe. Running time: 152 minutes. Theatrical release November 15, 2019. Updated

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Ford v Ferrari
Rating & Content Info

Why is Ford v Ferrari rated PG-13? Ford v Ferrari is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for some language and peril

Violence: Two friends have a fight, involving pushing and punching. A man throws a wrench at another man. A man is locked into an office; his cries for help are ignored. Cars crash and catch on fire. People are shown on fire; no detail or injuries. A character dies.
Sexual Content: A married couple kiss.
Profanity: There are approximately 40 uses of profanity or crude language in this film, principally scatological curses, terms of deity, and crude anatomical expressions. I heard one sexual expletive. An ethnic slur for Italians is used on one occasion.
Alcohol / Drug Use: Main characters drink minor amounts of alcohol in social settings. A husband and wife drink beer together. A main character takes pills: we don’t know if they are prescribed or are being used appropriately.

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Ford v Ferrari Parents' Guide

What would you do if you were given the same order Ken Miles was given at the end of the race? What do you think of the decision he made?

Read more about the history behind Ford v Ferrari here:

Biography: The True Story Behind “Ford v Ferrari”

For more about Carroll Shelby, check this out:

Wikipedia: Carroll Shelby

Edmunds: The Top 10 Shelby Cars of All Time

To learn about Ken Miles, click here:

ESPN: “Ford v Ferrari” and the untold story of Ken Miles

You can find information about the Le Mans race track here:

Explore France: 24 Hours of Le Mans

Lee Iacocca had an outsize impact on the automobile industry in the US.

Biography: Lee Iacocca

Famousquotes: Lee Iacocca

For more on Henry Ford II:

Wikipedia: Henry Ford II

 

Loved this movie? Try these books…

For the story of Ford and Ferrari’s battle, read all the details in Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans by A.J. Baime.

Ford resurrected the GT40 in 2015 and took it to victory at Le Mans in 2016. Read all about it in Matthew DeBord’s Return to Glory: The Story of Ford’s Revival and Victory at the Toughest Race in the World.

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Ford v Ferrari movie is February 11, 2020. Here are some details…

Related home video titles:

There’s no shortage of movies for fans of really fast cars, but many of them have considerable content concerns. If you’re looking for a family friendly story about a race car driver and his dog, try The Art of Racing in the Rain. And kids will enjoy the animated stars of Cars.

If it’s underdog sports movies you like, check out Moneyball, A League of Their Own, Glory Road, Chariots of Fire, Seabiscuit, Cool Runnings, or Cinderella Man.