Fighting with My Family (2019)

Fighting with My Family (2019)

 

7/10

Starring

Florence Pugh

Lena Headey

Nick Frost

Jack Lowden

Vince Vaughn

Dwayne Johnson

 

Directed by Stephen Merchant

The movie just pushes past the norm to deliver its own message. You can see all the clichés playing out, but the movie doesn’t let that stop it, thanks to its pacing and script.

This is one hell of a fantastic time in front of the screen. I wonder why I never heard of this film last year. The movie does everything it needs to make you love what it’s trying to do and take you through the life of WWE superstar Saraya "Paige" Knight. This movie is a biographical sports comedy-drama, based on a documentary about Paige’s life. It shows us how Paige went from wrestling in England to joining the WWE. The acting, especially by Florence Pugh as Paige, is enough for me to recommend seeing this film. But it’s not just her performance—it's also the well-written screenplay by Stephen Merchant, who also directed, that really adds the necessary touch.

The movie introduces us to the Knight family, a family of wrestlers who travel around England doing shows. The father has been sending tapes of his children to the WWE in hopes of getting them signed. One day, the children are asked to come audition.

Saraya is picked, and her brother Zak is dropped. This is devastating for Zak, whose dream has always been to be in the WWE. In fact, we learn that Saraya is as good as she is now because of Zak, who also trains young children.

Saraya picks her stage name, Paige, and goes to the training school. The movie then takes us through all the drama at the training school and the difficulties involved in becoming a WWE superstar. We get to see Paige grow into a better person while watching this movie, and yes, we do get a few glimpses of the fights.

I’d like to say that this movie paints the WWE in a good light. But the reality is far from it. I’ll suggest you do your own research, and maybe watch John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight segment on the WWE to get a better idea of what it's really like.

That said, here’s a movie I’m sure you’ll enjoy when you see it. The emotional rollercoaster mixed with comedy makes it a movie you won’t mind watching again just to feel it all over again.

And in case you need another reason to watch, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson features in a small but notable role in more than one scene.