Fighting With My Family (2019) 108mins
NEW TO ME COUNT: 4
SEEN IT COUNT: 0
So, as a rather big follower of wrestling in general, I really should have seen this one before now. The beauty of this challenge is I'm forcing myself to watch these films that I just kept putting off for so long, and so far I am very happy to be doing so as Fighting With My Family was quite a joy. It's rather an odd package; written and directed by comedian Stephen Merchant of all people it tells the story of the Knight family, a real life family of wrestlers from Norwich whose youngest daughter Saraya, with the ring name of Paige, achieved great success after being signed by big American players the WWE.
There's a great cast in place here, with Nick Frost and Lena Headey portraying Paige's parents, a strong turn by Vince Vaughn as a WWE recruiter and coach, and even Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson himself playing...well...himself. The undeniable star though is Florence Pugh as Paige. For any wrestling fan watching the movie and familiar with Paige as a performer, it is very easy to suspend your disbelief and accept that you ARE watching the real Saraya on her journey through the system. Pugh encapsulates the role brilliantly and it is no surprise she has gone on to bigger things now in the MCU.
The script is both funny and full of heart, though I definitely felt it leant far too much into trying to portray Paige as a weird outsider, being a pale goth girl from England. It plays down a lot of what the real life Paige achieved BEFORE the big climax of the film, her WWE RAW debut and championship win, and instead makes out that she was still a nobody even by that point. It creates a good narrative, and it's exactly what all biopics do for the sake of storytelling, but it still jars a bit when you are familiar with the true events. Nevertheless, a very enjoyable journey to follow.
7/10
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