FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY – Review

After years of flexing its muscles, WWE is now showing that it has heart as well. Based on a true story, FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY is a feel-good underdog story that will charm all sports fans, even those unfamiliar with wrestling. It follows reformed gangster Ricky (Nick Frost), wife Julia (Lena Headey), daughter Paige (Florence Pugh) and son Zak (Jack Lowden)  as they make a living wrestling together in tiny venues in Norfolk, England. When Paige and Zak get the opportunity to try out for the WWE, they grab this once-in-a-lifetime chance to turn their life around and provide for their family. However, both of them learn that their future in wrestling might not be exactly what they had dreamed of.

Stephen Merchant, who may be an odd choice for directing, really focuses the story around this struggling, working-class family of misfits and former criminals and makes their flaws and all quite endearing. Florence Pugh is fantastic as the punk-rock rebel in the ring. She conveys the spunky passion Paige has to make it in the WWE, as well as the insecurities surrounding her appearance as an outsider compared to the tall, tan, and blonde women she’s up against. In the hands of Merchant, the film becomes much more of an ensemble – especially in the first half – as each member of the family gets to shine. The wildcard comes from the genuine and heartfelt story of Paige’s brother Zak played with tragic gusto by Jack Lowden.

WWE purists might be somewhat frustrated by how wrestling is presented in the film. Despite Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson serving as producer, there’s a severe lack of real professional training that goes into Paige’s journey through the ranks of the WWE. Many scenes are quick to show endurance training, like her flipping giant tires or sprinting along the beach. Though these scenes aim to show that wrestling is just like other sports, they also present a false notion that if you simply try hard enough or are strong enough, you can make it up the ranks. The film gets caught up in its fairy tale message that “you can do whatever you put your mind to” and neglects the politics of the industry, the storytelling & production inside the ring, and other nuances of the WWE.

In the sensational Netflix show, GLOW, the women in the ring had to train each other. However, that was the 1980s, and the world was a very different place. Besides the fact that women wrestling wasn’t a common thing yet, the women in the show didn’t have professionals to teach them because they didn’t have the budget and… well… sexism. As a result, the characters in the show teach each other. A sense of camaraderie is felt between the women as they are forced to be strong together and muscle their way into an industry that thinks a women wrestling program is nothing but a joke. FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY tries to capture that same sense of female bonding by showing Paige teaching the other women how to do moves in practice. However, the year is 2014 in the film, and you’re dealing with an industry that’s a well-oiled machine that operates under strict guidance and safety precautions. Paige teaching others instead of professional instructors is not only an exaggeration of the facts, but it’s simply reckless to show. GLOW tells a story about strong women finding their place inside and out of the ring, and it seems like the producers of this film might be trying to bask in the glow of that popular series.

The movie culminates with Paige’s 2014 debut against AJ Lee for the title belt. While the scene is played as a nailbiter for Paige and her family, the heightened drama seems a little absurd given the fact that the film casually reminded audiences earlier that all of the in-the-ring antics are scripted. Once again, the film presents a misleading view of wrestling that if you try hard enough, you can do anything. More importantly, though, it’s a shame that we don’t get to see more of her career. I get ending the film with her triumphant moment, but given the real-life drama centered around her career, the film ends a bit abruptly and even implies that she’s still wrestling to this day – which any fan can tell you is not the truth.

What it lacks in terms of down and dirty details of the wrestling world it more than makes up for with feel-good charm. FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY seems committed to entertaining all audiences by casting a wide enough net so that it doesn’t just pull in the die-hard wrestling fans. Ultimately, it’s a satisfying blend of quirky family comedy and underdog sports drama despite its flaws. Like the weekly WWE matches, the film feels a little hoky and phony at times but still manages to get the crowd going.

Overall score: 3 out of 5

FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY opens in theaters Friday, February 22, 2018