Fighting with My Family

Sports biopics have difficulty in standing out from one another due to their abundant reliance on reusing the familiar underdog story that can get old really fast. Many of these show a protagonist down on their luck who get a chance opportunity to train for a big athletic league, they encounter a roadblock in that journey that causes them to stop and reflect for a brief period of time, and their triumphant return to achieve a goal. From my own experiences with this genre, many of these have focused around either football, baseball, or basketball stars. This brings us to a new outlier among that group in Fighting with My Family, which was written and directed by Stephen Merchant and is based on the 2012 documentary The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family. The marketing campaign intrigued me by its comedic approach regarding its depiction of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) career of professional wrester Paige. I entered the auditorium ready to see what it can do for the genre and left it very impressed due to how entertaining it turned out.

What's it about? This feature follows the WWE career of Saraya Knight (stage name Paige) from her training with the selection process to her debut match with Divas Champion AJ Lee. What helps keep this underdog tale very fresh is the witty dialogue that adds a light-hearted tone that doesn't take itself that seriously. It takes time to flesh out the personality of the lead before she undergoes the hard training program to get a chance to enter the WWE. It doesn't shy away from the physical strength and endurance those athletes had the build to put on the show for the fans that will involve coordination as well as being capable of lifting one another. That respect for the sport is on display here between the love Paige and her family have for wrestling as well as real truths about it that the film isn't afraid to have out there. The elements need to carry a triumphant spirit in the end along with the clever script all make the watch worth it in the end, which is accompanied by real life footage in the end credits.

That being said, there are flaws that can get in the way at times. The main one lies in how slightly over-dramatized the conflict Paige has with her brother is displayed. The way is plays out drags the pacing of the film in certain chunks. There may also be some adjustments with how certain events played out for how much they wanted to show but it's not very noticeable here as most things here feel organic.

How's Florence Pugh? In regards to this underdog, Florence does a great performance as Paige as she carries charisma and vulnerability in a balanced package. The chemistry she shares with a variety of actors here are entertaining to watch whether it's to see some dramatic weight feel solidified or joking around those who she feels comfortably relaxed with. Her line delivery that fluctuates naturally between casual one-liners and anxiety from stress shows why she was a solid casting choice in this role.

How are the other actors? The acting MVPs to pay attention to are Hutch Morgan (Vince Vaughn) and Zac Knight (Jack Lowden). The former is not only a stern coach who's unafraid to be brutally honest but has the best jokes in the film (basically Vince reprising his role from Hacksaw Ridge but less mean). The latter does a solid job with the believable sibling bond that gets tense later on. Honorable mentions go to Patrick Knight (Nick Frost) and Julia Knight (Lena Headey) for their welcome screen presence and unexpected funny moments.

Overall Consensus: Fighting with My Family is a surprisingly entertaining sports biopic that's bolstered by a great witty script, great performances, emotional investment in the underdog, and love/respect for its sport. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/4🎟🍿 Runtime: 1 hour 47 minutes PG-13

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You are a wrestling fan and want to see how they treat the events regarding Paige. You enjoy familiar underdog stories abundant with cliches, predictability, and emotional investment.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You hate familiar underdog stories abundant with cliches, predictability, and emotional investment.