Rated: M
Directed and Written by: Stephen Merchant
Produced by: Kevin Misher, Michael J. Luisi
Starring: Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), Florence Pugh, Jack Lowden, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn.
Based on the 2012 documentary, The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family (directed by: Max Fisher), Fighting with My Family is a dramatization about WWE professional wrestling diva, Paige and her rise to fame.
From Norwich (the mustard capital of England) to the sunny shores of Florida, we follow the wrestling obsessed Bevis family as siblings Zak (Zodiac) and Saraya (AKA Paige, named after her favourite Charmed character) try-out for training for a SmackDown at The O2 Arena.
There’s the tough as nuts Brit humour – ‘dick me til I’m dead and bury me pregnant’ – from the wrestling-mad family; the mum Julia (Lena Headey) coming out with lines like, ‘his legs bend both ways – you should see his dick’. And Nick Frost cast as Rick the dad (who spent eight years in prison, ‘mostly for violence’) is brilliantly cast.
It’s the sibling rivalry that adds drama to the film, with brother Zac (Jack Lowden) wanting to make it to the WWE arena just as bad as his sister, Saraya (Florence Pugh).
Or, as it goes, Saraya has to prove she wants it just as much as him; and well, anybody.
It’s a cheering the underdog kinda movie – dog included – that goes hard on the humour to start, including some gems from The Rock himself (Dwayne Johnson).
Seeing Dwayne circle back to his origins here, showing that, fight until you win, drama gave me an appreciation of the sport.
It’s not fake; it’s fixed.
Trainer Hutch Morgan (Vince Vaughn – always good in a trainer role!) has to harden the want-to-be professional wrestlers so they can take the pain and winding and 60 quid if you’ll take a bowling-ball-to-the-balls action.
Then there are those dramatic moments like the advice of: Be the First You; the timing of these moments well-placed, well-stated, and really, very sweet.
The sport is shown as escapism, making sense of the outsiders who embrace it.
And I related, feeling warm and fuzzy because the characters are so down-to-earth. I like escaping too.
Paige went on to open-up the sport – being the youngest female wrestler to succeed. Because of Paige, the sport now shows more coverage of female wrestlers.
And the fun of the story made a surprisingly entertaining film.
I kept bursting with laughter at the obvious crude humour, but there’s also the ticklish like a literal hammer on the end of a long pole made by kids because they’re bored: hilarious.
Not a wrestling fan, I did not expect to enjoy this film as much as I did. But Fighting With My Family is well worth a watch.