If you were an 80s kid like me, your world revolved around the TV schedule. I could be found sitting cross-legged on the living room floor, watching a plethora of shows on any day of the week. Wednesdays were a big night for my family.
In the early to mid 80s, Wednesday nights were a big night for TV. The Fall Guy, Facts of Life, Family Ties, Hotel, and Dynasty all battled for attention. I didn’t care about Dynasty or Hotel, but I loved Family Ties and Facts of Life. However, there was nobody cooler in all of TV than Lee Majors as Colt Seavers in The Fall Guy. Also staring in the show as Seavers’ love interest was the gorgeous Heather Thomas as Jody Banks.
In the TV Show, Majors was a stuntman who was also a bounty hunter. He used his abilities as a stuntman to capture the bad guys. And he usually did it in ultra-cool ways. In the remake of The Fall Guy, Ryan Gosling plays Colt Seavers, only this time he is not a bounty hunter. In The Fall Guy, Seavers must find and rescue the star of a movie he is in. The movie that Gosling’s character must save is directed by Jody, played by Emily Blunt. Without giving the plot away, a lot of shenanigans take place.
I saw an interview with the director of The Fall Guy, David Leitch, where he said the movie was a love letter to stuntmen. Leitch, a former stuntman turned director, is obviously passionate about showcasing stunts and there is an abundance of amazing stunts in The Fall Guy.
The movie is as much as an action flick as it is a comedy. An action comedy, if you will. Throughout the film, my daughter and I laughed out loud, as did others around me. The movie never takes itself seriously and the laughs and action are in abundance. Watching The Fall Guy in the theater was as good as a time as I’ve had watching a movie. I hope for many sequels to come.
I took my 17-year-old daughter with me to the movies, or more accurately, she took me. She loved the movie even more than I did. My 12-year-old wasn’t with me, but I am going to let him see The Fall Guy. I am sure he will love the movie as well.
Is The Fall Guy appropriate for kids? Depending on the kid’s sensitivities, I think so. There’s a lot of action and violence in the movie, but most of it is comical with little blood. There are some deaths in the movie, but it’s mostly fighting. There is a scene of drug use that is done in a funny way. There’s no sex in the movie. The closest thing to sex is in one scene, there are background dancers moving suggestively.
I won’t go as far as saying The Fall Guy is a family movie, but it’s one older kids and parents might enjoy watching together. The movie is rated PG-13 for action and violence, drug content, and some strong language.