Fighting with My Family (2019)

• Year: 2019
• Released: 22 Feb 2019
• Country: United Kingdom, United States
• Adwords: 10 wins & 5 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6513120/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fighting_with_my_family
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fighting-with-my-family
• Available in: 720p, 1080p, 720p
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: PG-13
• Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
• Runtime: 108 min
• Writer: Stephen Merchant
• Director: Stephen Merchant
• Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn
• Keywords: biography, based on true story, based on a true story, sports, family,

	7.1/10
	68/100
	93% – Critics
	86% – Audience

Fighting with My Family Storyline

Siblings Saraya and Zac have been into wrestling for as long as they can remember. Born into a wrestling-mad family they now run a wrestling clinic for kids and take part in the regular wrestling shows and tournaments their parents produce. Their chance to hit the big time arrives when the WWE has auditions in the UK. Could this be their big break?

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Fighting with My Family Movie Reviews

With and for …

But importantly full of heart! Paige … you may know her or you may not. Although there are maybe some who became aware of her through a scandal that had her in the middle of it. And that has nothing to do with wrestling or the main competitor of the WWE at the time with her husband being in the middle of it. But enough of that and gossip or whatever you want to call it.

I was not aware of her story and how she struggled to come to WWE, but the biopic on hand here lays it out. And while I’m sure there are some dramatizations on certain things or how they occured, the movie is not afraid to show some ugly sides. Or play with the cliches it build itself (the hollow blondes with … well let’s say just the looks … but is that true?)! And that makes it riveting watching.

What I also did not know, is that Stephen Merchant directed this … color me impressed. Very well done sir. Which may explain certain quirks here and there. It is a really refreshing and quite enjoyable view on one person and her way to the WWE … but it also is rough and tells stories that maybe not everyone wants to hear (you only have to really believe in something and it will come true?) … Maybe there are messages that you do not approve of, but the movie is as entertaining as it gets

Crowd-pleaser

I love movies that open my mind up to a world that I was not previously accustomed to. The world of professional wrestling has never once appealed to me. A staged “sport” where grown men in tights throw each other around to compete for a “title belt”? Yeah, no, not for me. But if there’s anything I’ve learned over years of seeing hundreds of movies in theaters, you have to keep your mind open. Fighting with My Family is not only a huge delight and surprise, but one that did slightly peak my interest in at least giving wrestling a shot. Anchored by the producing presence of The Rock and even acting in a few scenes, Stephen Merchant carefully crafts the story of a family of wrestlers who have dreams of making it big, only for one of their children to win a shot at the WWE over the other. Florence Pugh plays “Paige”, the real life WWE Champion who worked her way up the WWE to become the youngest champion at age 21. Pugh, who was brilliant in The Outlaw King, gives Paige a snarky but extremely charming edge. There’s no doubt in my mind, Pugh has the makings of a future Oscar winner. While the film itself likely won’t win any awards, it’s the definition of a crowd-pleaser.

8.6/10

A Knight’s Tale

Full disclosure first, I am a wrestling fan and I knew the majority of Paige’s story and how the WWE and pro-wrestling works before seeing this.

The Knight family love professional wrestling. It has changed the lives of Julia (Lena Headey) and Ricky (Nick Frost) and their passion has transferred to their three children, particularly to their son Zak (Jack Lowden) and daughter Saraya (Florence Pugh). Having grown up performing for the families Norwich based federation, a shot at the big time comes when both children are asked to attend try-outs for World Wrestling Entertainment.

All that said, you don’t really need to know anything about wrestling to enjoy “Fighting with My Family”. It’s a relatable story of someone from an unlikely background overcoming the odds to find success far from home. It’s has a very British sense of humour, with lots of jokes with swearwords or about class differences, both between the Knights and Zak’s prospective in-laws and between Paige and her peers once she’s over in the performance centre. It probably has slightly too much swearing to be a real family film, but is still pretty gentle in its overall tone and themes. What makes the film successful is the performances of actors in the key roles. Frost and Headey are great, as is Florence Pugh, who continues to be a star on the rise after her performance in “Little Drummer Girl” last year. It’s Jack Lowden, however, who has the most to do and excels with it, dealing with the disappointments and temptations that his life gives him as a parallel to his sisters.

That perhaps leads to me the films biggest weakness, despite how unlikely it seems, Paige’s journey isn’t perhaps that extraordinary. She’s way more talented and experienced than any of her colleagues but struggles a bit to overcome her own awkwardness. It’s not so much an emotional rollercoaster as it is a jittering ski lift. To combat that, we get the opposing journey of Zak which, if anything, is actually more interesting, as he struggles with fatherhood, disillusionment and jealously before coming to terms and reconciling with his family.

“Fighting with My Family” is an entertaining and funny film if a little slight and though I can’t imagine it’s going to be anybody’s favourite film of all time, it’s a lot of fun to watch and I’m sure would be enjoyed by anyone.

A little bonus if you are a fan of the UK wrestling scene from the past few years is spotting cameos from current stars. Dave Mastiff and Kip Sabian are two of the most obvious but there’s a few more (and a dig a Pete Dunne which is funny, if slightly confusing).