What is West Side Story about?
Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)
No. Brace yourself.
Young lovers from rival gangs navigate a gritty New York City where romance and tragedy intertwine.
Romantic and melancholy. A date-night pick at a measured pace. Emotionally it is devastating.
Streaming on Disney+.
West Side Story parents guide
Nothing past what a PG-13 promises: no sex or nudity and mild language.
Our estimate: fine from about 13. Rated PG-13.
- Scare
- Not scary
- Jump scares
- None noted
- Gore
- Light gore
- Some blood or injury, briefly.
- Violence
- Strong violence
- Violence is frequent or intense.
- Sex and nudity
- None noted
- Language
- Mild
- Mild words like damn, hell or crap.
How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.
Three questions
- How gory is West Side Story?
- Light gore and strong violence.
- What is West Side Story rated, and is it OK for kids?
- Better for teens than younger kids: it is rated PG-13, with strong violence.
Cast and crew
Directed bySteven Spielberg
StarringAnsel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Brian d'Arcy James
More like West Side Story
West Side Story (1961)Romantic · date night · strong violence · emotionally devastatingRival gangs battle for territory as star-crossed lovers navigate a vibrant, melancholy world of epic romance.
The Godfather Part II (1974)Gritty · full attention · brutal violence · graphic goreA crime family's epic saga unfolds with melancholy, as a son expands the empire his father built.
The Godfather (1972)Gritty · full attention · brutal violence · graphic goreA crime family saga unfolds with measured, gritty suspense, building an epic and melancholy atmosphere.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)Gritty · comfort watch · strong violence · emotionally devastatingAn innocent man's integrity and unquenchable hope shine through decades of gritty prison life.
Titanic (1997)Epic · date night · strong violence · emotionally devastatingA young woman's forbidden love story unfolds with epic romance and melancholy aboard a doomed maiden voyage.
The Green Mile (1999)Melancholy · full attention · strong violence · graphic goreOn death row, a gentle giant's miraculous gift brings both healing and profound melancholy to a gritty prison.
Forrest Gump (1994)Wholesome humor · nostalgic · comfort watch · strong violenceA simple man's extraordinary journey through history unfolds, chasing a love that always feels just out of reach.
The Notebook (2004)Romantic · date night · emotionally devastating · measuredA man reads a faded notebook, rekindling a passionate, decades-spanning love story separated by war and fate.
West Side Story is on our Drama on Disney+, Romance on Disney+, Crime on Disney+ and Musical lists.
More like this feeling
Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.
- “a movie that will make me cry”
- “a thriller with a twist, no spoilers”
- “funny but not stupid, under two hours”
Lists with the same feel: Tearjerkers and Epics.
Five more like West Side Story
Say the mood. Five picks with where they stream, right here.
Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.