Just like Professional Wrestling, 'Fighting with My Family' Is Formulaic but Enjoyable

After seeing the 2012 documentary The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was inspired to produce a biopic based on it.  The resulting film, titled Fighting with My Family, tells the story of Saraya-Jade Bevis (played by Florence Pugh), better known by her WWE ring name Paige.

Growing up in a tight-knit wrestling family, Paige and her brother Zac (Jack Lowden) inherited the passion for the sport from their father (Nick Frost) and mother (Lena Headey).  One day, the Bevis siblings are given the chance to try out for WWE’s training program, but only Paige makes the cut.  Urged by her family to press on, she sets off on a grueling, life-changing journey toward achieving her dreams.

In order to bring Paige’s life story on screen with optimum appeal, some creative liberties had to be done.  This turns the narrative into something Rocky-esque in its execution, which inevitably relies on a good amount of done-to-death tropes.  However, in spite of the clichés, the film manages to avoid being cheesy, but instead showcases something truly touching and uplifting.

On top of this, it’s genuinely one of the funniest films of 2019 so far.  It has a couple of scenes that had me in stitches.

Moreover, as a casual WWE fan, I enjoy the behind-the-scenes aspect of this film.  Through the years, I’ve read a handful of wrestler biographies, and I found the anecdotes of their grind to be quite fascinating.  This film – although it has fictional parts – has the same sense of authenticity and charm that those books have.

The performances are solid all around.  Florence Pugh is a marquee name in the making; Nick Frost and Lena Heady really made their characters extremely likable.  But my favorite performance is probably from Vince Vaughn, who plays the fictional Hutch Morgan, an amalgamation of the different WWE trainers that handled Paige.  Meanwhile, although he was prominently billed during marketing, the Rock actually only had two or three scenes.

Lastly, if you have been following WWE-related news, you probably would have known that Paige was a victim of a notorious sextape leak a few years ago.  Now, there’s a dialogue in the movie that seemingly subtly references it.  I don’t know if that’s intentional or not.  Either way, it’s pretty strange.

All in all, due significantly to the heart and humor in it, Fighting with My Family is a splendid film.  And just like its featured sport, it’s heavily formulaic, yet an enjoyable product is presented.  However, even those who aren’t into wrestling will find this movie relatable and worthwhile.