Fighting With My Family - Wonderful, Funny Underdog Story With Stellar Performances

Certificate – 12A

Directed By – Stephen Merchant

Starring – Florence Pugh, Jack Lowden, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn, Dwayne Johnson

Running Time – 108 Minutes (1 Hour 48 Minutes)

★★★★★

IMAGE VIA LIONSGATE

For years wrestling fans have been waiting for a truly decent wrestling movie and who would’ve thought out of all the superstars under the WWE brand it would be Paige to lead the way.

Clearly, Dwayne Johnson thought so after seeing the Channel 4 documentary that focused on Paige and her wrestling family and this is the Rocky movie that WWE and all wrestling fans will love.

IMAGE VIA LIONSGATE

Fighting With My Family focuses on Saraya Knight, aka Paige, (Pugh) and her brother Zak (Lowden) who make a living wither their gangster turned former wrestling dad Ricky (Frost) and mum Julia (Headey) as they perform in tiny venues across the country until Saraya and Zak get the chance to audition for WWE. While chasing the dream of becoming a WWE superstar the sister and brother will learn the demands were tougher than they ever imagine.

This is one of my favourite films of the year so far, not because I’m a wrestling fan because it’s a wonderful story that is superbly acted.

IMAGE VIA LIONSGATE

Pugh continues her rise to becoming the national sweetheart and one of this country's rising stars with a truly gripping performance as we see Paige change from the fish out of water to trying to fit in and then becoming the youngest ever Diva’s champion.

While Pugh does deservedly get all the love, it can be argued that Lowden is the films MVP as he delivers a beautiful, heartbreaking but sometimes selfish performance I’m sure people will connect too.

Front and Headey do a solid performance as the parents with Frost’s background in comedy delivers the script brilliantly. Meanwhile, Johnson gets to play The Rock once again and possibly the first time on screen and is able to give an old school Rock promo.

Elsewhere, this could be one of Vaughn’s best performances as an NXT coach, which has hints of different coaches including wrestling legend Dusty Rhodes. Speaking of NXT it was nice for it to showcase the developmental brand in its early years before the performance centre.

IMAGE VIA LIONSGATE

As well as performances for the cast, the story will resonate with viewers as people will see it as an underdog story of chasing your dreams and seeing dreams slip away. There’s also another side plot of judgement which is equally important.

Finally, as a first-time director Merchant does a wonderful job and will see continue his rise and no doubt hear his name connected to bigger projects. Additionally, hope a sequel is in the pipeline as there’s more to tell for Paige’s story especially when it comes to the WWE Women’s Revolution.

IMAGE VIA LIONSGATE

Verdict

A wonderful, beautiful, funny underdog story with stellar performances from Pugh and Lowden.