The Art of Racing in the Rain Parent Guide

The road of life is never straight. There are curves, twists, and detours. And there’s unexpected weather that can slow you down and make the road slick and dangerous. But, as Enzo the dog tells audiences, “If the driver has the courage to create his own conditions, then the rain is simply rain.”

Enzo, perfectly voiced with Kevin Costner’s warm, gravelly tones, is a dog who wants to be human. He believes that, if he learns everything he needs to in his life, he can be reincarnated as a man. Luckily for him, he’s adopted by Denny Swift (Milo Ventimiglia), a racecar driver who names him after Enzo Ferrari, founder of the famous Ferrari company. The two bond immediately, with a shared love for watching races on TV. In fact, Enzo watches lots of television and credits it for teaching him about people. His love of racing and study of humans leads Enzo to use racing metaphors to explain his life and that of the people around him.

The bond between Enzo and Denny is briefly tested when Denny marries Eve (played with big-eyed, waif-like fragility by Amanda Seyfried). But soon Enzo connects with Eve and eventually baby Zoe (Ryan Kiera Armstrong). And then the road of life takes a sharp curve and Enzo throws himself into helping Denny steer the course. As Enzo tells the audience, “A true champion can accomplish things a normal person would consider impossible.”

Viewers will either love Enzo’s driving metaphors or will find them irritating. But they will be united in their appreciation of a film with virtually no content issues. One minor swear word, no explicit sexual content, minor violence integral to the plot, and very occasional social drinking is all there is. In fact, the screenplay actually downgraded the sexual content in the original novel and changed a plot element to make the film more family friendly. Parents looking for clean family entertainment can comfortably take older kids or grandma to see The Art of Racing in the Rain without worrying about uncomfortable moments. Small children, however, will likely find parts of the film disturbing: there are car accidents, deaths, and a hallucination experienced by a dog. There is also a moment of revenge diarrhea, planned by Enzo, which is amusing, but which parents might not want their younger kids watching.

This production goes beyond avoiding negative content and steers hard into positive messages. This is a film that unabashedly celebrates marriage, parenting, and families. It promotes themes of loyalty, devotion, sacrifice, persistence, hard work, and forgiveness. Given all of these positives, it feels churlish to say that I didn’t love the movie. (I didn’t hate it either.) It’s clean. And harmless. And, sadly, predictable. If you’ve seen any of the dog movies that have filled theaters over the past few years, you are familiar with the formula. If you love the dog movie genre, you’ll love The Art of Racing in the Rain. If you don’t love the genre, you might want to brake and think twice before you race off to buy tickets.