Fighting with My Family
(2019)Comedy biopic written and directed by Stephen Merchant (The Office), based on the 2012 documentary The Wrestlers: Fighting with my Family, which tells the story of WWE wrestler Paige (Florence Pugh, Lady Macbeth). Dwayne Johnson appears in the film and is also among the producers.... More
Born into a tight-knit wrestling family, Paige and her brother Zak (Jack Lowden, Dunkirk) are ecstatic when they get the opportunity to try out for the WWE. But when only Paige earns a spot, she must leave her family behind and face this new cut-throat world alone.Hide
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Directed by Stephen Merchant ('The Office', 'Extras', 'Cemetery Junction')
Starring Florence Pugh, Lena Headey, Nick Frost, Jack Lowden, Vince Vaughn, Thea Trinidad, Dwayne Johnson, Aqueela Zoll
Written by Stephen Merchant
Flicks Review
BY Matt Glasby Flicks Writer
From The Office right through to Logan, British comedian Stephen Merchant has a thing for dysfunctional “families”. And he’s picked a doozy for his debut as solo writer/director.... More
Based on a British TV documentary about a clan of wrestlers from Norwich, “the mustard capital of England”, Fighting with My Family introduces dad Patrick (Nick Frost), mum Julia (Lena Headey), son Zak (Jack Lowden) and daughter Paige (Florence Pugh)—the other brother’s in jail for putting someone in a coma. “We love the buzz,” explains Julia. “It’s like coke and crack and heroin combined.” Best not ask how she knows this.
While the spine of the film is Paige’s journey to America to become a WWE wrestler under the tutelage of Hutch Morgan (Vince Vaughn), it keeps cutting back to Norwich to show Zak struggling with being left behind. It’s a shame because Paige’s fish-out-of-water scenes are by far the funniest. “People liked it in Norwich,” she tells Vaughn of her act. “But here they have running water,” is his acid response.
Elsewhere there’s a lot going on, perhaps too much. The Rock pops in for an awkward cameo; Zak seems to be operating in a gritty, Full Monty-style Britcom; and the siblings’ stories intersect messily through Skype calls and montages. But it all comes together during a Christmas visit home, where Zak gets into a fight choreographed to Cliff Richard’s Mistletoe and Wine, and Pugh gets to show her dramatic chops.
By the time she’s prepping for her big WWE debut, you’ll be fully onboard. Yes, Glow and Dodgeball did this kind of material better, but Merchant has a great ear for dialogue, a strong cast, and a story so good you’ll swear he made it up.Hide
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Fighting with My Family
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The Press Reviews
A couple of scenes with The Rock don't energise a run-of-the-mill sports story. Full Review
Within the context of a sport that thrives on artifice, writer-director Stephen Merchant spins a story whose emotions feel entirely genuine. Full Review
It's often broadly funny but never mean or patronising; it takes the Knights, their eccentricities and quixotic aspirations seriously, but not enough to squelch the fun. Full Review
What's surprising is how well all of this suplex-to-nuts biopic works...[but] see it for Florence Pugh's fireplug turn. Full Review
The boastful, performative nature of WWE, spiked with mini dramas and constant role-playing, becomes the lingua franca of an atypical household in Fighting with My Family, the sweetest of comedies despite a sizable number of body slams. Full Review
"Fighting With My Family" may not be an Oscar contender but it has enough wit, heart, energy and good cheer to make it a fun watch even for non-wrestling fans. Full Review
If you want a good laugh, you'll find it here. If you want some Rocky-style physical exertion, you'll get your fill. Even if you're not all that interested in pro wrestling, the serious talent has a solid chance of winning you over anyway. Full Review
Despite a great real-life background story, and despite comedy master Stephen Merchant being at the helm as writer-director, this movie never really comes off. Full Review
Fighting with My Family is simply an entertaining, lightweight affair of humorously choreographed muscle. Full Review
Fighting With My Family is a plucky, funny and unexpectedly moving wee film. I liked it a great deal. Full Review
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