Fighting with My Family

Starring: Florence Pugh, Lena Headey, Nick Frost, Jack Lowden, Vince Vaughn, Dwayne Johnson, Olivia Bernstone, Leah Harvey, Stephen Merchant, John Cena
Directed by: Stephen Merchant
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A small town wrestler (Florence Pugh) gets her big break when she gets a chance to try out for WWE wrestling, much to the delight of her parents (Lena Headey, Nick Frost) and the jealousy of her brother (Jack Lowden).

Review:
Tim: I have to say, Fighting with My Family is a delightful surprise of a film. If you told me they were making a biographical film about WWE wrestler Paige, I would have shrugged. I've heard her name, but I knew nothing about her. If you told me the film would be made by a partnership between Dwayne Johnson and Stephen Merchant, I would have raised the People's Eyebrow in confusion. Stephen Merchant the actor? None of this makes a lot of sense, especially not that this is a heartwarming, inspirational and funny film that I found unexpectedly entertaining. It might eventually be just a tad too lightweight and takes a few too obvious liberties with the truth, but man, this film was still so effective.

There's been a lot of effective wrestling movies over the years. I appreciated that this film got to that destination through unexpected means. This is very much a comedy/drama that balances both sides of that equation. The movie does a terrific job of establishing these unique, memorable characters that you grow to care about. So, when Paige's older brother struggles with jealousy and depression about his little sister getting the opportunity he believes he deserved, you actually feel real emotions about it. You care about this eccentric little family. The drama aspects are certainly there, especially when Paige faces unbelievable odds in her quest to be a WWE star. And yet, this isn't a wrestling drama. Stephen Merchant finds so much humor throughout the film. It's surprising how funny and lighthearted this whole saga is. I laughed out loud numerous times throughout the film. This terrific combination of the heartfelt drama with the lighthearted comedy is an undeniably attraction pairing. It translates into an entertaining, enjoyable movie.

Merchant did a great job not just behind the camera, but with the script as well. The dialogue is witty and memorable and it's just a funny film. He leverages the cast to deliver the humor. Florence Pugh might not be a great actress, but she was well cast as Paige. She gives a believably physical performance. I thought Pugh put in a ton of obvious effort. While I wish she was a better actress, she worked really hard in this role and I very much appreciated that. Lena Headey and Nick Frost are perfectly cast as her parents. They really embraced the eccentricity of these characters and they brought so much humor to the film. I loved how they made us laugh, but they each had some genuinely emotional, poignant scenes as well. It helps that Headey and Frost are so talented because they were called upon to do quite a lot in these roles. Jack Lowden does a good job as Paige's older brother. His performance is quieter but essential to the overall film. I have to say that I loved Vince Vaughn's performance here. It might be a little pandering to the WWE, but his character is remarkable. He hits that right balance of toughness and caring and he makes the movie so much better. Vaughn is a good actor and he's utilized brilliantly here. I also loved the small scenes with Dwayne Johnson. It felt a little disingenuous to have him so prominently featured on the DVD cover when he only shows up for two scenes, but man, he makes an incredible impact with limited screen time. His scenes are some of the best of the entire film. As a whole, Merchant assembles a strong cast and gives them plenty of opportunity to shine.

The story as a whole is a bit predictable and color-by-numbers, but Merchant attacks it with an earnestness and humor that allows us to forgive some of its shortcomings. It offers the typical sports movie route of being counted out, not believed in, and requires that Paige go above and beyond, dig deep into herself to ultimately triumph. We've seen that numerous times before, but it is effective and it's entertaining. It helps that the comedy is so strong throughout the entire movie. Now, I will say that the movie does have some flaws, mostly in how the WWE is portrayed. We all know that the shows are scripted, but this movie obviously takes a huge detour around this. That creates problems with the script, because certain events are looked upon as shocking to the characters when that's obviously not the case. Anyone who knows anything about professional wrestling will realize that a number of creative liberties were taken with the story and the film's conclusion is especially hard to believe. I understand why Merchant did it for the sake of the story, but it does detract from the believability of the film.

So, some flaws prevent this film from being considered great, but it's a surprisingly entertaining, enjoyable movie. I had a ton of fun watching this and would recommend it to anyone. This is a movie about characters first, the wrestling piece is secondary. Stephen Merchant did a tremendous job with his second feature film directorial effort and I'm interested to see what he does next.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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