The Fire Inside | 2024 | PG-13 | – 3.3.5

Why is “The Fire Inside” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “some strong language, thematic elements, and brief suggestive material.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes some kissing and caressing, several discussions of dating, a teen girl talks about having been molested as a young child, teen pregnancy, several boxing sequences with heavy punches landing, a teen girl punching a man in the face, many arguments, and at least 2 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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When a teenage girl (Ryan Destiny) from Flint, Michigan, is determined to enter the world of women’s boxing, no one can imagine how far she will go and how much she will accomplish. Also with Brian Tyree Henry, Jazmin Headley, Kylee D. Allen, De’Adre Aziza, Chrystian Buddington, Maurice Wayne Anglin, Teanna Weir, Idrissa Sanogo, Taytem Douglas, Olunike Adeliyi, Adam Clark, Shechinah Mpumlwana and Nendia Lewars. Directed by Rachel Morrison. [Running Time: 1:49]

The Fire Inside SEX/NUDITY 3

 – A teen boy and a teen girl lie in bed kissing; the boy is shirtless (we see his bare chest, back and abdomen), he puts his hand under the girl’s top and she tells him to stop and gets up; she then tells him that she was molested by her mother’s boyfriend when she was a young girl. A teen boy and a teen girl embrace while he sleeps in bed (he is not wearing a shirt and we see his bare chest and abdomen).
► A husband and wife kiss and embrace on a sofa. Teen boys and girls bowl at a bowling alley and one teen boy touches one teen girl’s hand; they stand in a dark passageway and they kiss tenderly. Teen boys and teen girls dance at a formal dance and embrace. A teen boy gives a teen girl a ride home on his bike and she sits on the handlebars.
► A young teen girl tells her sister that she is pregnant. A woman introduces a man to her teenage daughter. A teen boy and a teen girl spar at a boxing gym and they giggle flirtatiously until the coach reprimands them. A man tells a teenage girl that there is “no dating at the gym,” and talks about hormones making her uncomfortable. A man says, “I was a playa.”
► A woman tells a teen girl that women athletes need to look a certain way and act a certain way as they watch a boxer posing for photos wearing a revealing dress (we see cleavage and bare legs to the thighs). A teen girl wears a low-cut gown that reveals cleavage, bare shoulders and back. A woman wears low-cut tops that reveal cleavage in a few scenes. A teen girl shaves her armpits (we see shaving cream in her armpits as she shaves).

The Fire Inside VIOLENCE/GORE 3

 – A man tries to grab a teenage girl from behind and she punches him hard in the face knocking him down (we hear that he is bleeding but do not see blood); the girl’s mother kicks her out of the house.
► Two teenage girls box in a ring and we hear punches landing and one falls to the mat; she gets back up and the referee counts her out. A teen girl seems to have a panic attack and breathes heavily during a match.
► A teen girl tells a teen boy that her mother’s boyfriend molested her when she was young. A woman and a teenage girl box and after the teen wins, she says that she doesn’t like the score. A teen girl is disappointed when she is told that she cannot have fries with her lunch while in training.
► After her mother kicks her out of the house, a teen girl walks on the streets in the dark until a man (her coach) picks her up and takes her home. A teen girl is upset when she learns that her coach is not sanctioned and cannot travel to China with her for a boxing tournament. A teen girl is interviewed and asked why she likes boxing and she replies that she likes hitting people. A teen girl tells a teen boy that she doesn’t need any distractions (by their relationship) and he is upset. Two men argue and one insists that he take a teen girl home saying that he is her father. A man confronts another man about not having gotten any endorsements for a teen girl after she won a gold medal in the Olympics. A man and teen girl argue bitterly and she leaves. A teen girl tries to pawn her gold medal. A young woman negotiates for equal pay for women athletes.
► A young girl runs on a street to get to a gym where she practices boxing even though she is told by the coach that he does not train girls and several boys tease her; one boy and the girl prepare to spar and the boy pins the girl against the ropes, the girl then pins the boy and punches him repeatedly causing him to complain and the coach stops them. A teen girl runs along a road and a man drives behind her in a van calling out encouragement.
► A young girl searches through her kitchen to find food; she checks pantries and the refrigerator, finds nothing to eat and she sees the sink and counters stacked with dirty dishes.
► Boxers trash talk each other in a couple of scenes. A man and a young boy play, growling at each other. A teen girl tells her younger sister that she is not going to change any stinky diapers after the younger sister tells her that she is pregnant. Two children tell their teenage sister that they haven’t eaten all day.

The Fire Inside LANGUAGE 5

 – About 2 F-words, 18 scatological terms, 11 anatomical terms, 25 mild obscenities, name-calling (short bus, messed up house, weak, ungrateful, frog town, crazy, fool, lame, nasty, T-Rex, bully, stupid, fat daddy), exclamations (dang, you trippin’, shut-up, stop, nah man, darn), 2 religious profanities (GD), 3 religious exclamations (e.g. oh my God). | profanity glossary |

The Fire Inside SUBSTANCE USE

 – A man drinks a bottle of beer in a few scenes, a man holds a glass of liquor, a man drinks a glass of whiskey, and several men and women drink and smoke in a house. A woman smokes a cigarette.

The Fire Inside DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Women’s sports, sports marketing, opportunities, women in boxing, truth, fear, betrayal, teen pregnancy, accomplishments, perception, disappointment, destiny, winning and losing, managing expectations, 2012 and 2016 Olympics.

The Fire Inside MESSAGE

 – Following your heart can give you strength to overcome disappointment and obstacles.