Fighting With My Family
Starring: Florence Pugh, Jack Lowden, Lena Headey, Nick Frost, Vince Vaughn, Dwayne Johnson
Director: Stephen Merchant
Coming from the tiny burb of Norwich, England, Saraya (Florence Pugh) and Zak Knight (Jack Lowden) have been preparing to be wrestlers their entire life. Under the tutelage of their parents Julia and Ricky (Lena Headey and Nick Frost), they have become local celebrities, providing wrestling lessons to local kids and filming demo tapes of themselves to submit to Hutch Morgan (Vince Vaughn) of the WWE. One day, they get the call to tryout but only Saraya, who now goes by Paige after her favorite character on Charmed, gets called to the next stage. Zak is devastated but ultimately happy someone gets to represent the family. Once she arrives for her training, Paige finds that the road to WWE stardom isn't as easy as she was expecting and has to find the strength within herself to rise to the challenge and achieve her dream.
Sports movies, especially ones based on true stories, are very tricky with in that there are a limited number of outcomes. To compensate, the focus is either on intense sports action or the characters. Wisely, director Stephan Merchant has chosen to focus on the latter and has chosen a fantastic actress in Florence Pugh to lead the film. I've enjoyed her work ever since I saw her debut in 2016's Lady Macbeth (Seriously, go see that film if you haven't) and she ably carries the film. Even when the film hits the predictable moments, which happens quite often, she keeps the film grounded in emotion as we watch her struggle to achieve her dream. Jack Lowden does fine as her brother Zak, but he only really comes alive in the final third, matching Pugh's emotion. Nick Frost and Lena Headey do a great job with their limited time as the parents, providing some of the funnier moments of the film.
Those looking for wrestling action might leave disappointed, as there isn't a true match (on a large stage) until the end of the film. Even that feels almost anticlimactic and short, but as the outcome for the story is known, it is probably a wise choice to not bring any false emotion to the ending.
You don't need to be a fan of wrestling to appreciate the film (I am not), but if you appreciate a familiar sports underdog story with a fantastic lead performance, then you will find a lot to appreciate about this film.
B