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Can you smeeelll what the Stephen Merchant is cooking? Yes, while “Fighting with My Family” boasts a guru-presence cameo by Dwayne Johnson , a whole lot of funny talent performing athletic slapstick, and even some laugh-out-loud shade at Vin Diesel , the key to WWE Studios’ best film yet is the co-creator behind shows like "Hello Ladies" and “The Office.” Merchant’s mind for sharp dialogue and character-based comedy proves to be an essential muscle for this feel-good true story, which tells of how WWE superstar Paige came from a completely lovable wrestling clan and rose to international stardom.  

When Saraya Knight and her brother Zak are shown tussling as kids, their parents intervene—to correct the chokehold to make it more effective. Their home proves to be a charming atmosphere, where the parents, former-convict and current teddy bear Ricky ( Nick Frost ) and force of nature Julia ( Lena Headey ), love each other deeply. The family shares this positive atmosphere in their wrestling gym and indie wrestling league in their working-class English town, where they teach a band of excitable young kids how to pin, bounce off the ropes, etc. The two stars are the now-grown Knight children, Saraya ( Florence Pugh ), her jet-black hair and lip ring as definitive as her shyness and shortness, and the slightly hot-headed Zac ( Jack Lowden ). The Knight clan sees each other as equals, and when they do fight, it’s the good kind.  

One of the film's funniest scenes is early on, when the Knights meet the parents of Kirsten ( Aqueela Zoll ), Zac’s girlfriend. With Kirsten’s dad played by the comparably demure Merchant, the Knight family are true bulls in a china shop of delicate upper-class niceties. To watch Merchant interact with them is especially funny, while highlighting how this family has their own language, and that they can’t help but be themselves. Most of all, they’re proud of where they’ve come from. It makes for a very warming ensemble comedy, the quartet’s chemistry making a vivid nest that Saraya soon leaves when she gets a shot at professional wrestling.  

Saraya's steady ascent to WWE stardom with blood, sweat, tears, and personal branding (where she changes her stage name from Britani to Paige) then presents Merchant with a narrative challenge he doesn’t entirely pin down—how do you show a character’s progress arc in an industry where everything is fixed, not faked? He finds a solution in part by not forgetting about Zac when he doesn’t make the cut, and putting a lot of dramatic screen-time into Paige’s weaknesses—that she isn’t as strong as some of the other women, which her coach Hutch (played with tough love by Vince Vaughn ) reminds her about. Worst of all, she gets stage fright when it comes to the essential act of talking trash in the ring. Pugh and Lowden’s full-bodied dramatic performances express the complete frustration and isolation within these shortcomings, representing hard-working people who are tempted to give up on a dream for many reasons. This eventually makes for moments in which the film, as unabashedly formulaic as it is, can be genuinely inspiring.  

But in spite of the many montages that show what wrestling requires physically, this movie is honestly about successfully branding yourself to superstardom, which WWE seems to be in denial of in pursuit of a classic athletic success narrative. Even though there’s a sense of those who simply do and do not have what Vaughn calls “spark,” there’s little explanation of that, blurring the potential of being able to root for someone to have “it,” whatever that is. The movie goes so far as to make its pivotal match seem like a fight won purely by strength, even though The Rock himself shared during the Sundance Q&A that while Saraya's first big match (known at that point as Paige) did have the same winner, he did tell her the result the night before, which the script avoids. It’s artifice in awkward denial of itself, and it cheapens the hard work of people like Paige, as much as we see her and her peers throw every part of themselves into this entertainment. 

Packaged in part as a look back on executive producer Dwayne Johnson’s own success, the film begins with old wrestling footage of him as The Rock, and then jokes at the end about how he created himself a career outside of wrestling. It calls to mind how Johnson became a superstar by branding himself as down-to-Earth on- and off-screen, making him one of the most inspirational superstars you can follow on Instagram. You get a comforting sense that the WWE is following his lead: even though “Fighting with My Family” is undoubtedly about branding the WWE as a fantasy factory, its biggest strengths are its wit and surprisingly big heart, celebrating underdogs who rumble for what they love.  

This review was filed from the Sundance Film Festival.

Nick Allen is the former Senior Editor at RogerEbert.com and a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Film credits.

Fighting with My Family (2019)

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual material, language throughout, some violence and drug content.

108 minutes

Florence Pugh as Saraya 'Paige' Knight

Lena Headey as Julia 'Sweet Saraya' Knight

Nick Frost as Patrick 'Rowdy Ricky Knight' Knight

Jack Lowden as Zak 'Zodiac' Knight

Vince Vaughn as Jake Roberts

Thea Trinidad as April 'AJ Lee' Brooks

Aqueela Zoll as Kirsten

Ellie Gonsalves as Maddison

Leah Harvey as Hannah

Dwayne Johnson as The Rock

• Stephen Merchant

Cinematographer

• Remi Adefarasin
• Nancy Richardson

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Fighting with my family, common sense media reviewers.

Some language, lots of pro wrestling in funny biopic.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Movie is all about familial love and support, espe

The whole family is supportive, loving, nonjudgmen

Extensive pro wrestling action (including staged f

No nudity, but the parents are very into each othe

Occasional rough language, including British slang

Mention of previous drug use by parents. A coach c

Parents need to know that Fighting with My Family is a fact-based dramedy about a wrestling family from Norwich, England. Based on the life of WWE superstar Paige, it centers on Raya (Florence Pugh) and her brother, Zak (Jack Lowden), who were raised by hard-living wrestler parents (Lena Headey, Nick Frost)…

Positive Messages

Movie is all about familial love and support, especially through tough times. Courage, perseverance, loyalty spotlighted. People rebound from mistakes by acknowledging them, changing their behavior.

Positive Role Models

The whole family is supportive, loving, nonjudgmental. Raya/Paige has to dig deep physically, mentally, and emotionally to pursue her dream. (In real life, wrestler Paige was hacked and had several sex videos posted online, but none of that is included in the film.)

Violence & Scariness

Extensive pro wrestling action (including staged face smashes, chokes, throws, kicks, etc.) -- kids may need to be reminded not to copy it at home (even trained professionals get hurt executing such stunts). Also occasional real fighting, including a bar brawl in which billiard balls and cues are used as weapons.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

No nudity, but the parents are very into each other. An unplanned pregnancy is part of the story. Very skimpy outfits on some of the female wrestlers -- in the ring, in training, at the pool, etc. Use of crude/sexual terms in dialogue (see "Language").

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Occasional rough language, including British slang ("bloody," "wanker," "bollocks," "stiffy," etc.). Also "s--t," "crap," "ass," "c--k," "pr--k," "penis," "d--k," "ball bag," "t-ts," etc. Talk of a wrestler's genitals being exposed during a match and another getting an erection while training with a female wrestler. "Jesus Christ" and "oh my God" as exclamations.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Mention of previous drug use by parents. A coach catches a teen dealing drugs. Background smoking.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Fighting with My Family is a fact-based dramedy about a wrestling family from Norwich, England. Based on the life of WWE superstar Paige, it centers on Raya ( Florence Pugh ) and her brother, Zak (Jack Lowden), who were raised by hard-living wrestler parents ( Lena Headey , Nick Frost ) and aspire to join the WWE. Expect some racy humor, a fair bit of strong language (including both British slang and words like "s--t," "d--k," "c--k," and more), minor teen drug dealing, background smoking, and skimpy outfits. There's also a lot of pro wrestling action (including staged face smashes, chokes, throws, kicks, etc.), as well as more realistic fighting that happens outside the ring. Underneath the rough stuff, though, are strong messages about courage, perseverance, and familial loyalty and support. Writer-director Stephen Merchant also co-stars, along with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Vince Vaughn . To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (17)
• Kids say (20)

Based on 17 parent reviews

Too realistic

Great movie about being true to yourself, loyal to family and appreciating what you have, what's the story.

Based on the true story of pro wrestling superstar Paige, FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY follows a family of rough-hewn wrestlers from Norwich, England. Young Raya ( Florence Pugh ) doesn't look like the standard WWE supermodel/grappler, but wrestling is in her blood. It's also in the DNA of her loving brother, Zak (Jack Lowden), and adoring-parents-with-sketchy-pasts Julia and Ricky ( Lena Headey , Nick Frost ). When Raya gets her shot at joining the WWE, can she make it through Coach Hutch's ( Vince Vaughn 's) demanding program and join the galaxy of WWE stars such as The Rock ( Dwayne Johnson as himself)?

Is It Any Good?

This funny, heartfelt movie represents a huge step up for WWE Studios. To date, World Wrestling Entertainment has mostly been a conveyor belt for violent macho fantasies ( The Marine through The Marine 6: Close Quarters ) and low-bar humor ( Santa's Little Helper, Jingle All the Way 2 ). Fighting with My Family is something totally different: a genuinely well-made film about a family. That's due largely to the writing and direction of Stephen Merchant , who's probably best known for co-creating the original version of The Office . Merchant's script follows the contours of a scrappy-underdog sports movie, but it's also filled with quirky details about Raya/Paige's family (all wrestlers) and class differences in England. Before Zak brings his fiancée's parents over for dinner, for example, he begs his parents to clean up their act a little. He asks of his dad, "Can he put on a shirt?" To which jolly, mohawked, alcoholic ex-con Ricky bellows, "How posh are they?" Most important, Merchant and his cast convincingly create a family. Viewers believe that these people have loved each other forever and that this is a lifelong dream.

Pugh is great in the lead role. She allows herself to be "unpretty," both physically and in the mistakes Paige makes. As her loving but deeply frustrated brother, Lowden ( Dunkirk ) is charming and complex. Both seem headed for big things. Headey and Frost are endearing and lively as their parents, Vaughn is well-cast as the tough coach, and Merchant is funny in a small, all-reaction role as the fiancée's dad. The movie's wrestling action, including the training, is enjoyable. While it may be hard to deeply invest in the outcome of fixed matches (just don't call them "fake," at least not around Paige's clan), the film sufficiently involves us in Paige's struggles so that predetermined "winning" and "losing" outcomes are secondary to the experience.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violence in Fighting with My Family. Does the fact that the wrestling action is staged affect how you react to it? Did the movie have an impact on your opinion of pro wrestling?

How do the characters and their journey show the importance of courage and perseverance ?

What would you say are the movie's themes? What did you think of Raya's unconventional family?

If you're familiar with the WWE, you knew going in that Raya would become a star. How did it affect your experience of the film? Did it still hold any suspense for you? Were you able to lose yourself in the moments of her struggle?

Movie Details

• In theaters : February 14, 2019
• On DVD or streaming : May 14, 2019
• Cast : Florence Pugh , Dwayne The Rock Johnson , Lena Headey
• Director : Stephen Merchant
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : MGM
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : Sports and Martial Arts
• Character Strengths : Courage , Perseverance
• Run time : 108 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : crude and sexual material, language throughout, some violence and drug content
• Award : Common Sense Selection
• Last updated : December 15, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Fighting With My Family Reviews

New and old school fans will definitely love the aspects of pro wrestling and get a glimpse of the journey that Paige went through.

Full Review | Jan 22, 2023

...packs far more heart and more character depth than I was expecting.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 20, 2022

When it’s all said and done, Fighting with My Family‘s bush league to professional yarn is a crowd-pleasing good time with a lot of heart.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 17, 2022

Fighting with My Family gives us a story with enough heart and laughs that is sure to win over audiences and maybe, just maybe, create a few new wrestling fans in the process.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Feb 18, 2022

Episode 31: Fighting with My Family / Happy Death Day 2U / Greta

Full Review | Original Score: 76/100 | Sep 14, 2021

Fighting with My Family is a fun and surprising emotional story about a quirky, ambitious clan. Wrestling fans may be most drawn to it, but it still has a lot to offer even if you've never watched a match in your life.

Full Review | Feb 18, 2021

This movie is definitely funny, but it also has an emotional heft I didn't expect.

Full Review | Feb 9, 2021

It is a universal story about outcasts who create community through sport and heart combined with the kind of "soap opera in spandex" storytelling that has made wrestling so popular.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 31, 2021

It is thanks to Merchant that the film achieves what it sets out to do ... His characters, though based on real people, pop off the screen and take on a life of their own. They may just make a wrestling fan out of you by the end of it.

Full Review | Jan 28, 2021

Energetic, rousing, and routinely hilarious - quite the feat for what is, superficially, just a wrestling biopic.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Dec 7, 2020

[It] brought all those exhilarating memories from my younger days back in a vivid rush. I was that little kid again watching mortal beings do impossible things with their body.

Full Review | Nov 10, 2020

Fighting With My Family has classic British humour and a familiar grittiness to it, reminding me why I adore British cinema so much.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Oct 19, 2020

What this real-life rags-to-riches tale lacks in originality (echoing documentary The Wrestlers: Fighting With My Family) it more than makes up for with the one-two punch of brilliant performances and spot-on comic timing.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 16, 2020

Its pitfalls grow with the plot, overriding its broad strokes at social commentary.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 27, 2020

Although it offers an interesting commentary on self-acceptance, insecurities and tenacity, in the end the charm disappears to favor a boredom of almost two hours. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Jul 24, 2020

Even if you've never seen wrestling, you will relate with this story about family love, identity, and the chase of seemingly impossible dreams. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Jul 7, 2020

The film brilliantly balances the wrestling components and the family drama - making this a really charming watch for all the family.

Full Review | Apr 17, 2020

It ends up convincing both on a dramatic level, and on a somewhat more visceral level. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 20, 2020

It never quite settles into a real comedic stride, but there are enough touching themes about the impact of thwarted dreams, having conviction in your own sense of self, and sparks of Stephen Merchant's wit to endear the audience to the story.

Full Review | Feb 13, 2020

Director and writer Stephen Merchant shoehorns [Florence] Pugh into a typical sports underdog plot... Yet despite the very familiar and familial feel, this one only lags occasionally.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 29, 2020

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‘Fighting With My Family’ Review: They Body Slam You, Your Mum and Dad. Lovingly.

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By Manohla Dargis

• Feb. 13, 2019

The brood in “Fighting With My Family” is a rambunctious crowd. There’s mum and dad Knight, and a handful of adult kids (one’s doing time). Professional wrestlers all, they grapple with one another in and out of the ring while running a gym in Norwich, England. They know how to put on a good show, how to turn the mat into a stage with thumps and grunts, stomps and smashes. The family that smacks down together stays together, or at least that’s the idea in this charmer about love and choreographed war.

The writer-director Stephen Merchant plunges into the domestic fray straightway, opening with a peek at the Rock, a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson, living the dream on the Knights’ television. Johnson is one of the movie’s producers as well as one of the story’s leading talismans, the embodiment of the Knight family ideal. A poster of him from his title glory days hangs in the bedroom of the family’s daughter, Paige (Florence Pugh), who’s been wrestling since she was a young teenager. Alongside her older brother Zak (Jack Lowden), Paige is carrying on a tradition begun by her parents, Ricky (Nick Frost) and Julia (Lena Headey), who found salvation both in each other and inside the ring.

Like all genre movies, sports stories tend to cling to a familiar template, one involving struggle, tears, heart, soul and triumph — cue the cheering crowd. “Fighting With My Family” isn’t much different, which is extremely and shrewdly on point for a movie about professional wrestlers with bigger-than-life personalities and flamboyant stage names who, in a circumscribed space, deliver precisely coordinated, rule-bound narratives of victory, agony and defeat. Like genre cinema, professional wrestling strikes a balance between convention and innovation, between what the crowd knows (expects) and the surprises, the little deviations from the usual script, that can drive it to its feet.

Much of the movie turns on a sibling rivalry that upends and nearly rends the family when Paige, selected at an audition for World Wrestling Entertainment, is shipped off to a Florida boot camp. (W.W.E. Studios helped make the movie.) While Paige — a Goth girl with a heavy curtain of jet-black hair — struggles to fit into the competition, where the tanned and the blond rule, often in bikinis, Zak licks his wounds at home, trying and generally failing to deal with disappointment. As Merchant toggles between Zak in Norwich and Paige in Florida, he settles into a familiar struggle between authenticity and artificiality, a seemingly odd divide on which to hang a tale of professional wrestlers.

If it works, it’s partly because of the easy allure of authenticity narratives, even the most contrived. Paige considers the other female competitors suspiciously, unwittingly condescending to them because she doesn’t view them as real wrestlers. For Paige, her authenticity is a given, even if her professional persona — which changes along with her wrestling name — is a construct. Merchant gently plays with this idea, mostly to fill in the story as she progresses from obliviousness to self-knowledge and the inevitable third-act clinch. (The genesis of the movie is an entertaining, more open-ended Channel 4 television documentary about the Knights, “The Wrestlers: Fighting With My Family.” )

Merchant is probably best known for the original British version of “The Office,” which he helped create. He doesn’t do much with the camera in “Fighting With My Family,” which has a filmmaking style that’s best described as functional. But he has a terrific cast (including Vince Vaughn as a coach), pinpoint timing and a gift for visual japes and physical comedy, for arranging bodies in funny formations and for underlining everyday absurdity. Merchant also has a sense of flow. Even when the jokes are as blunt as the bowling ball that Ricky delivers to another wrestler’s groin — they’re testing out a dubious routine — they just slide into the story, becoming part of its textured realism

Like its amiable, irresistible ménage, “Fighting With My Family” softens its rougher edges with humor. It’s often broadly funny but never mean or patronizing; it takes the Knights, their eccentricities and quixotic aspirations seriously, but not enough to squelch the fun. At times, particularly when the family is in its element at its gym (a.k.a. World Association of Wrestling , a.k.a. W.A.W.), which does double-time as a refuge for young neighborhood strays, the movie evokes the working-class milieu familiar from British filmmakers like Mike Leigh and Ken Loach. Merchant doesn’t seem keen to score political points, but he nevertheless quietly delivers some truths amid the laughter and hurt.

Fighting With My Family Rated PG-13 for professional wrestling violence. Running time: 1 hour 48 minutes.

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• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Fighting with My Family

A former wrestler and his family make a living performing at small venues around the country while his kids dream of joining World Wrestling Entertainment. A former wrestler and his family make a living performing at small venues around the country while his kids dream of joining World Wrestling Entertainment. A former wrestler and his family make a living performing at small venues around the country while his kids dream of joining World Wrestling Entertainment.

• Stephen Merchant
• Dwayne Johnson
• Lena Headey
• Vince Vaughn
• 399 User reviews
• 196 Critic reviews
• 68 Metascore
• 10 wins & 5 nominations

• Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
• (as Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson)

• Julia Knight

• Saraya Knight
• Young Saraya
• (as Tori Ross)

• Ricky Knight

• (as Elroy 'Spoonface' Powell)

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia Saraya-Jade Bevis said that her Dad was disappointed he was going to be played by Nick Frost because he didn't know who Nick Frost was and he wanted to be played by Ray Winstone , but when he saw Nick Frost performance he said "he's actually pretty good ain't he."
• Goofs Paige is seen as a young girl holding a homemade cardboard version of the WWE Divas title, however this title wasn't introduced until 2008, by which time Paige was 16.

Julia Knight : Dick me dead, and bury me pregnant.

• Crazy credits The scenes over the end credits come from the 2012 UK Channel 4 documentary 'The Wrestlers: Fighting With My Family'. This is supposedly the documentary The Rock saw that got him interested in producing a film about Paige's story.
• Alternate versions In order to obtain a PG-13 rating in the US, some swearing was edited out of the film. The Blu-ray included an R-rated 'director's cut' which restores the edits.
• Connections Featured in The Film Brain Podcast: Wrestling with "Fighting with My Family" (2019)
• Soundtracks Electrifying Written by Jim Johnston (as James Alan Johnston) Performed by Jim Johnston Licensed courtesy of WWE, Inc.

User reviews 399

• Mar 4, 2019

Everything New on Prime Video in April

• How long is Fighting with My Family? Powered by Alexa
• What is Fighting with My Family about?
• Why is Zack jealous of Saraya?
• Why does Johnson have top billing in the movie with only 5 minutes of screen time?
• February 22, 2019 (United States)
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Official Instagram
• Gia Đình Đại Chiến
• Bracknell, Berkshire, England, UK (town)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
• Channel 4 Television Corporation
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $11,000,000 (estimated)
• $22,958,886
• Feb 17, 2019
• $41,503,392

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 48 minutes

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Fighting With My Family Review

A solid addition to the wrestling movie canon..

Fighting With My Family Gallery

Fighting With My Family delivers on comedy, action, and a sweet message of acceptance and strength at its core. It might be a bit too wrestling-heavy for some, but the strong cast, interesting real life story, and a magnetic lead mean this black sheep sports story is a feel-good flick with chops that might finally put WWE Studios on the map.

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‘Fighting With My Family’ Review: Your Basic Suplex-to-Nuts Wrestling Biopic

By David Fear

Some parents expect their children to grow up and become doctors, lawyers, CEOs. Ricky and Julia Knight wanted their kids to become WWE superstars. Wrestling is the family business for the Knights, who run an amateur organization — the World Association of Wrestling, we’re sure you’ve heard of it — out of the small English town of Norwich. Dad (Nick Frost) is the mohawked terror known as “Rowdy Ricky”; Mom ( Game of Thrones ‘ Lena Headey) dishes out pain under the name “Sweet Saraya.” And from the moment that their young daughter Saraya-Jade learned how to get out of a chokehold properly, she and her brother Zak were expected to get in the ring. The family that leg-drops together stays together, etc.

Cut to the siblings in their teens, with Saraya-Jade (Florence Pugh) hitting the ropes as “Britani” and partner “Zodiac Zak” (Jack Lowden) giving local punters their money’s worth. Then, the call comes: WWE representatives are going to be in London for a Smackdown event. They’ve seen the siblings’ tapes and they’d like both of them to audition. After running into The Rock backstage (Dwayne Johnson in the role he was born to play, i.e. an even more charismatic version of himself), the Knights try out for a wisecracking drill sergeant of a trainer named Hutch (Vince Vaughn). Zak gets the boot. Saraya-Jade gets invited to train in pro-wrestling’s equivalent of the minor leagues in Florida. Soon, our pale, Gothed-out heroine has renamed herself Paige and settled in to a physically punishing boot-camp experience. She also finds herself lost in America, a British Siouxsie Sioux among a sea of Barbies and one bad day away from seeing everything fall apart.

If you know Paige’s real-life, ragged-leotards-to-riches story, you know how this all plays out. Even if you don’t, Fighting With My Family makes no bones about telegraphing where it’s going and what kind of sports movie it is. There will be life lessons and setbacks and heel turns, especially when Zak’s resentment over his sister’s opportunity curdles into a personal downward spiral. Of course there are training montages, how could you even ask? Vaughn’s coach belongs to a long line of screen hard-asses determined to either push athletes past their limits or break their spirits one soul-crushing putdown at a time — his aggro-sarcastic comic timing has not been this on-point since Swingers . But how many times do you think Mr. Side Eye will quietly smile to himself when Paige does something right, or give her a you’re-ok-kid nod when she succeeds in winning over tough crowds? We stopped counting once that number hit triple digits. Just when you think Paige is down for the count, she finds the inner strength to come roaring back. The movie even plays like a wrestling match. It’s Underdog Cinema 101.

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What’s surprising is how well all of this suplex-to-nuts biopic works. Hiring Stephen Merchant, one-half of the braintrust behind the original U.K. edition of The Office and a writer-director with a droll wit, to tell Paige’s story initially seems like an odd fit. But the skewed humor and warmth and scrappiness he brings to the family scenes, along with the fact that he doesn’t treat pro wrestling like a hold-your-nose novelty, is enough to distinguish this from a million other started-at-the-bottom-now-we’re-champs tales. Temporarily liberated from scowling and shorn-haired walks of shame, Headey is clearly having fun with her grappling, faux-growling wrestler mom. Fans of Frost — or “Frostitutes,” as the resident comic relief in Edgar Wright’s repertory company has sometimes referred to us diehards — will be ecstatic that he’s given ample opportunity to indulge in goofballery, yet not at the expense of his character’s paternal concern. (He’s not just a comic caricature, in other words.) If the sequences of Zac nosediving into self-destructiveness feel like weak links, the rapport between him and his sister nail the bond of siblings born into a family dynamic involving the regular administration of piledrivers. And we haven’t even mentioned the movie’s not-so-secret weapon yet.

That would be Florence Pugh, an English actor who’s been slowly building an impressive resumé of period-piece heroines with claws and fangs. Those who first saw her in hell-hath-no-fury mode in Lady Macbeth (2016) registered someone with a genuine fearlessness; anyone who caught her Cordelia in a recent King Lear adaptation and her steely queen in Outlaw King (both 2018) could tell she was meant for bigger things than corsets and cowering in musty castle corners. Before you could yell, “Welcome home, Helena Bonham Carter 2.0!”, we got her undercover recruit in AMC’s John le Carré adaptation The Little Drummer Girl, and it started to feel like her talent was real-thing transcendent. This confirms it. Paige is the sort of role that requires her to be vulnerable, tough, rebellious, funny, determined, drained, someone capable of executing a move called “The Paigeturner,” everyone’s little sister and the sort of larger-than-life performer that can command an arena. She lets you see where all of this springs from, and how it’s all part of the same misfit. You’d be advised to see it for Pugh’s fireplug turn alone, which makes the just-north-of-oddball take on a warhorse narrative, the Rock’s charm-offensive cameos and a really choice Vin Diesel dig almost feel like bonuses.

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Film Review: ‘Fighting With My Family’

The rise of real-life WWE wrestler Paige is charted in a good-natured comedy from director Stephen Merchant and producer Dwayne Johnson.

By Dennis Harvey

Dennis Harvey

Film Critic

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A change of pace from the usual action-driven output from WWE studios, “ Fighting With My Family ” at times more closely brings to mind 2000’s guilty-pleasure comedy “Ready to Rumble,” one of the few filmmaking ventures by the wrestling conglomerate’s then-rival WCW. The current film has some of the same crotch-kick-level humor, and much of the same shameless brand self-promotion, if regrettably none of David Arquette’s inimitable spazardry. (Still, we get Nick Frost, which is a pretty fair swap.) But there’s less guilt in this pleasure — in fact, it’s probably the best of the 50-odd movies WWE has produced since 2002’s “The Scorpion King,” which starred this film’s producer, Dwayne Johnson, who steps briefly into the action here. 

Recounting the real-life story of the rise of Saraya-Jade Bevis — aka Paige — from working-class Norwich, U.K. to WWE Divas Champion at age 21, “Fighting With My Family” may not be an Oscar contender but it has enough wit, heart, energy and good cheer to make it a fun watch even for non-wrestling fans. MGM plans a limited theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles on Feb. 14, before going wide the next week; Lionsgate is handling the U.K., Universal other territories.

We meet Paige, played here by Florence Pugh of “Lady Macbeth,” as the least invested member of her wrestling-crazy family; she’s taken her monicker as an homage to the character on the TV series “Charmed” played by Rose McGowan (who incidentally was also in “Rumble”). Biker-looking dad Ricky (Frost) and Chrissie Hynde-esque mum Julia (Lena Headey from “Game of Thrones”) are more than happy to tell the world that wrestling turned their lives around from some rather sordid beginnings. Actually, things still look pretty sordid, particularly as the brood makes its threadbare living involving the entire family in a wrestling school and amateur bouts.

The film focuses on Paige and brother Zak (Jack Lowden), who has serious pro aspirations; everyone is thrilled after the pair’s video wins them an audition when the WWE circus comes to London. Their dreams really do seem to be coming true, especially once they luck into an encounter with Johnson, who’s making a quick stadium return as “The Rock.” Yet Paige, the sole woman under consideration at the audition, also turns out to be the only contender selected for further training. She must go off to Florida alone, leaving behind a devastated Zak. With a new wife (Hannah Rae) and baby, he can’t accept the apparent failure of what had been his life’s goal.

In Orlando, Paige’s Goth style doesn’t mesh with the other, more conventionally sexy female wrestlers. Nor does anything about her seem to impress the program’s pitiless drill sergeant-cum-talent coach Hutch (Vince Vaughn), whose task is largely a process of elimination. Lonely and depressed, missing home, she comes very near quitting before … well, suffice it to say, this just isn’t the kind of movie in which failure is ever really an option.

The screenplay, by frequent Ricky Gervais collaborator Stephen Merchant , who here directs his second feature, never strays far from the familiar triumph-of-the-underdog template, taking considerable liberties with the facts to present a cleaner, more crowd-pleasing package (Bevis’ real journey from Norwich to the WWE was more gradual than the overnight leap portrayed here). But things generally play fine; despite the predominantly working-class English milieu, “Fighting” is slick and brassy, with occasionally crude humor thrown in. There are some baldly corny, manipulative elements, in particular a couple of Inspirational Speech 101 interludes. The film admits the world of “wrestling entertainment” is scripted (if nonetheless bruisingly athletic), then conveniently forgets that for a climax — Paige’s 2014 battle with AJ Lee for the Divas Champion crown on “WWE Raw” — that we’re meant to take as real.

What prevents it all from being as hokey as WWE wrestling events themselves is the warmth and good humor Merchant brings to the material, as well as the excellent cast. Everyone here makes the most of some decent throwaway banter, albeit none quite so much as Frost. Vaughn is in good form in a role tailor-made for his caustic comic flair; Johnson pops in for a couple of genial, flashy cameos.

Pugh may almost oversell our heroine’s self-doubts; we’re never quite sure she wants this dream as much as she obviously needs to want it in order to attain it. Yet the actress still contributes another impressive turn to her fast-tracked resume. The standout performance here, though, belongs to Lowden (“Dunkirk,” “Mary Queen of Scots”), who makes rejected Zak’s heartbreak vivid enough to lend the film moments of real pathos.

Though it doesn’t lay on standard WWE glitz too heavily, “Fighting With My Family” still features polished tech and design contributions and a soundtrack that includes plenty of the kind of amped-up rock cuts one expects, by the likes of Motley Crue and Motorhead.

Reviewed at Sundance Film Festival (Premieres), Jan. 28, 2019. Running time: 107 MIN.

• Production: (U.S.-U.K.) An MGM release of a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures presentation in association with Film4 and The Ink Factory of a WWE Studios, Seven Bucks Prods. and Misher Films production. Producers: Kevin Misher, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Stephen Merchant, Michael J. Luisi. Executive producers: Andy Berman, Hiram Garcia, Danniel Battsek, Tracey Josephs, David Kosse, Rhodri Thomas. Co-producers: Jamie Elliott, Ralph E. Portillo, Sarada McDermott.
• Crew: Director, writer: Stephen Merchant. Camera (color, widescreen, HD): Remi Adefarasin. Editor: Nancy Richardson. Music: Vik Sharma, Graham Coxon.
• With: Florence Pugh, Lena Headey, Nick Frost, Jack Lowden, Vince Vaughn, Dwayne Johnson, Mohammad Amiri, Hannah Rae, Julia Davis, Stephen Merchant, Ellie Gonsalves, Aqueela Zoll, Kimberly Matula, Thea Trinidad.

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Screen Rant

Fighting with my family review: this wrestling biopic's got real heart, fighting with my family succeeds as a crowd-pleasing sports movie, thanks to its sharp wit and sincere apprecation for its working-class characters..

Dwyane "The Rock" Johnson is everywhere these days, and that includes films that aren't actually about him or a character he plays. That's the case with Fighting with My Family , anyway, but for good reason. The movie is based on the 2012 documentary The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family , which explores the career of WWE wrestler Paige, aka. the youngest winner of the Divas Championship (among other accomplishments). Johnson joined forces with actor-filmmaker Stephen Merchant (co-creator of the British Office and Extras ) to get a docudrama inspired by Paige's real-life experience off the ground and running, and together the pair's creative sensibilities make them a strong match for the subject matter here. Fighting with My Family succeeds as a crowd-pleasing sports movie, thanks to its sharp wit and sincere apprecation for its working-class characters.

Florence Pugh stars in Fighting with My Family as Saraya Knight, a young English woman who comes from a family of small-time professional wrestlers, including her brother Zak (Jack Lowden) - who also teaches wrestling to local kids in Norwich - father Ricky (Nick Frost), and mother Julia (Lena Headey). Saraya and Zak have both dreamed of joining the WWE since they were pre-teens, which is why the pair are beside themselves when they're invited to try-out for the WWE's NXT development branch by its coach, Hutch Morgan (Vince Vaughn). However, thing don't go as planned and only Saraya ends up being recruited by the organization.

Upon making her way to the U.S., Saraya - who chooses "Paige" as her new ring name - struggles to keep up with the demands of her training and finds her gruff Norwich ways of doing things put her at odds with the other female wrestlers. Meanwhile, back at home, Zak wallows in self-pity and begins to isolate himself from his wrestling students, loved ones, and especially Saraya, which only makes life harder for his younger sister. In time, though, the pair come to realize: if they're going to overcome these new obstacles, they'll have to fight alongside their family, in all the forms that it takes.

Fighting with My Family , which Merchant both wrote and directed, is a pretty by the numbers sports film overall, from its formulaic story beats to the inevitable montage of Paige training hard and improving as an athlete. It's the movie's earnest portrayal of its characters that elevates the proceedings into something more memorable than this would suggest. The film takes the time to really develop the members of Paige's family, yet still finds room for humor without seeming like it's looking down on the English working-class and their ways of living. Merchant's script is also empathetic in the way it handles the initial tensions between Paige and the other women of the NXT, making the eventual payoff to that plot thread all the more satisfying and well-earned. It may not offer too many surprises on the way to its predictable outcome but, like a good WWE showdown, it's the execution that really makes Fighting with My Family  a winner.

More than that, Fighting with My Family works because - like its title suggests - it's a film about the idea of family and what it means, as much (if not more) than it is a story about wrestling. It's one of the rare mainstream movies that really digs deep into a brother-sister relationship, yet at the same time finds room to examine themes about friendship between women and the dynamic between kids and their parents (both literal and more figurative). Much like The Rock himself, Fighting with My Family  finds a way to serve up inspirational lessons about life and how you should treat the people who've either helped you in the past or are there for you now, without coming off as being corny or contrived. Merchant further embraces that scrappy spirit with his direction and shoots the film in a style that's more polished than an actual documentary, yet has a similarly personal look and feeling.

Of course, it helps that the cast feels authentic in their roles across the board. Pugh, in particular, is already an up and comer thanks to her work on films like Lady Macbeth , and her performance as Paige should only keep her star rising on the up and up. Fighting with My Family may split its focus between Paige and Zac, but the former is very much the protagonist and it's fun to watch her learn to embrace her working-class roots and crude manner and make it work for her both in and outside the wrestling ring. The movie also takes the time to explore Zac's insecurities about his failure to make it into the WWE and the complexities of why Paige's success is so difficult for him to swallow, in a way that offers insight into both his and his sister's journey. As a result, their conflict is far more interesting than if Zac had merely been jealous of his sibling.

The supporting ensemble are equally capable here, starting with Frost and Leadey as Paige and Zac's parents. Both actors know how to make characters with outlandish manners and personalities feel real, and that ability certainly helps them in Fighting with My Family . Vaughn, meanwhile, is noticeably buttoned down in his performance as Hutch, even in the scenes where he puts his motor-mouth comedy skills to use to trash-talk Paige and the rest of the NXT recruits. As for Johnson: he only appears in a few scenes (two of which are in the film's trailer), but gets to have some fun by playing himself and riffing on his real-world persona. He may be featured on the poster, but The Rock knows this isn't his movie and doesn't go overboard trying to hog the spotlight in the moments that he does share with Pugh.

In the end, the cast and creatives are what make Fighting with My Family both better than the average formulaic sports movie and one of the best films to feature The Rock in any capacity in the past year. It may be old-fashioned in some ways, but the movie just goes to show that an over-used recipe can still work wonders when you have the right ingredients. While it's not really a film that demands to be seen on a big screen because of its craftsmanship, it's nevertheless the sort of feel-good flick that's all the easier to enjoy when you're watching it with an enthusiastic audience. Even those who've never seen a wrestling contest or know little to nothing about the WWE may find themselves cheering Paige on to go the distance here.

Fighting with My Family is now playing in U.S. theaters nationwide. It is 107 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual material, language throughout, some violence and drug content.

Let us know what you thought of the film in the comments section!

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Dwayne Johnson-produced Fighting With My Family is a goofy WWE comedy with heart: EW review

Leah Greenblatt is the critic at large at Entertainment Weekly , covering movies, music, books, and theater. She is a member of the New York Film Critics Circle, and has been writing for EW since 2004.

The family that chokeslams together stays together in Stephen Merchant’s scrappy Sundance-bowed wrestling comedy — a movie about as subtle as the “bowling ball to the bollocks” one hopeful grunt has to take early on, but still a winning one.

Based on a true story and executive-produced by Dwayne Johnson, who also drops in for a Rock-sized cameo, Fighting tells the unlikely tale of the Knight family: Ex-con Ricky (Nick Frost), his fuschia-haired wife Julia ( Game of Thrones ’ Lena Headey), and their nearly-grown offspring Zak (Jack Lowden), and Raya (Florence Pugh). (Another brother, played by James Burrows, spends about two-thirds of the story offscreen in prison.)

The Knights, with their lip rings and Megadeth T-shirts, look like working-class understudies for the Osbournes, but they live for the beloved American pastime of professional televised wrestling — an obsession that would come off a lot more expected Stateside than it does in the grim industrial outpost of Norwich, England.

It does allow them to be pretty much the only game in town when it comes to dominating the sport: Together, they run a sort of all-purpose gymnasium-slash-club house, mixing lessons for locals with DIY matches headlined by Zak and Raya, whose ultimate goal is to become WWE stars in their own right. Or is it their parents’ dreams they’re living out?

When the actual organization comes to London to look for new talent, both kids get their chance to audition for a golden ticket; the prize is a spot at the WWE’s Florida training facility courtesy of Hutch (Vince Vaughn), a stone-faced scout who seems to hold the weight of the world in the soft grey pouches beneath his eyes.

Only one of the siblings makes the cut; most fans who follow the league in real life will know which one. But Lowden ( Dunkirk , Mary Queen of Scots ) and Pugh (a compelling actress in everything she’s been in, from Outlaw King to AMC’s The Little Drummer Girl ) are equally watchable, and better than Merchant’s broad-strokes script really allows for.

Still, the actor-writer-director — best known for his work on the original British Office and Extras — squeezes some good laughs (a seemingly tossed off Vin Diesel joke is brutally perfect) and even genuine pathos from Zak and Raya’s internal struggles as their diverging paths pull them further apart.

Most of Fighting ’s narrative moves are as choreographed as any undercard match — and the outcome as clearly forecast — but the tears brought on by the movie’s last ten minutes of rhinestoned Rocky triumph taste salty, and real. B

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‘Fighting with My Family’ Review: Standard Sports Movie Fare with Stephen Merchant’s Wit

The wrestling film may not offer any surprises, but remains charming and funny thanks to the strong performances and sharp script.

[ This is a repost of my review from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Fighting with My Family is now in theaters .]

The sports movie is almost a relic at this point. These days, a sports film is more likely to be something that deals with the business of sports (e.g. Moneyball , Draft Day ) than an athlete hoping to reach their dreams. In that way, Stephen Merchant ’s Fighting with My Family is almost a charming throwback. Based on a true story, Merchant’s film doesn’t try to upend any tropes of the genre. Instead, it just plays by the rules and has a good time doing it. Merchant peppers the script with crackling dialogue and then give it a big heart by focusing on a family that refuses to give up on each other even when their limits are tested. Like professional wrestling, the match may be fixed, but it’s still a lot of fun.

Growing up in Norwich, England, Raya Knight ( Florence Pugh ) and her brother Zak ( Jack Lowden ) have been trained to be professional wrestlers since they were kids by their parents Ricky ( Nick Frost ) and Julia ( Lena Headey ). When the WWE responds to a tape the siblings sent in, they get a chance to audition and be part of WWE’s training program, NXT. However, at the audition, Raya is accepted and Zak isn’t. They reluctantly decide to go their separate ways with Raya heading to Orlando to train in the NXT program and Zak headed back home to try and figure out what do now that his lifelong dream is dead. From there, the story splits as Raya must consider if being a professional wrestler is really what she wants and Zak has to cope with the jealousy and pain of losing out on his dream.

Going just by its structure, you’ve probably already seen Fighting with My Family in one form or another. Merchant sticks to the formula with Raya being an underdog and an outsider in the world of WWE where female wrestlers come from dancing, cheerleading, and modeling backgrounds rather than wrestling like Raya. She has to push herself to succeed, wrestles with self-doubt, rebounds with a montage, and is ready for the championship. While the script is based on true events—it’s the story of WWE Diva “Paige”—Merchant plays by the formulaic beats of a sports movie to keep the plot moving.

Where Fighting with My Family shines is how it works within that structure to be funny and heartfelt. Merchant’s insult comedy is on full display as characters trade jabs, and the whole cast acquits themselves well at the humor. If you’re a fan of Merchant’s other work, you’ll likely be taken with what he’s doing here as he piles on the jokes to win over the audience, which gets us on board with the characters and their journey. And to Merchant’s credit, he’s not afraid to ease up on the comedy if it means taking a dramatic beat to let the characters grow and change. And at no point does Merchant poke fun at wrestling or its fans. There may be humor in the situations and the dialogue, but Fighting with My Family takes wrestling as seriously as its characters.

Pugh continues to shine as a rising star, showing that she can dish out the quick-witted jokes while still maintaining the dramatic center of the movie. Even if you don’t have any interest in wrestling, you’re invested because Raya and Zak are invested, and the earnestness in Pugh and Lowden’s performances makes for a winning formula. Other actors, like Frost and co-star Vince Vaughn , who plays Raya’s coach, get to fire off a bulk of the one-liners, which allows Raya and Zak to handle the film’s emotional arc, and everyone does a terrific job. I will say that for those looking for a lot of Dwayne Johnson, who plays himself, will have to look elsewhere. He’s only in three scenes, and two of them are in the trailer.

There’s nothing unexpected in Fighting with My Family and that’s okay. It’s a sports story about an athlete who fights to achieve her dream. It’s worked before, it works here, and it will work again. Even the presence of WWE helps add authenticity rather than stealing focus and becoming an infomercial for the organization. I’ve never been into wrestling, but it doesn’t matter when you care about the characters and their fight to succeed. Throw in some good jokes and you have a winning combination.

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• DVD & Streaming

Fighting With My Family

• Drama , Sports

Content Caution

In Theaters

• February 14, 2019
• Florence Pugh as Saraya "Paige" Knight; Jack Lowden as Zak Knight; Vince Vaughn as Coach Hutch; Dwayne Johnson as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson; Nick Frost as Ricky Knight; Lena Headey as Julia Knight

Home Release Date

• May 14, 2019
• Stephen Merchant

Distributor

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Movie Review

The dream started when she was 10.

That’s when young Saraya’s dad caught her and her brother, Zak, wrestling in the living room—and then proceeded to show Zak how to properly choke out his little sister. Yeah, that’s when Saraya Knight knew her life was going to be a bit different from that of most other kids.

Not that it was really all that much of a mystery.

After all, both of her parents were tattooed amateur wrestlers. They’d both logged many a night in local wrestling arenas in their hometown of Norwich, England. They’d met and fallen in love there, in fact, then had their drugged-out, dead-end lives transformed by the wrestling ring. And each week, the Knight clan virtually worshipped as a family in front of the televised church of World Wrestling Entertainment.

So Saraya’s place in the world seemed pretty clear.

Now that she’s 18, Saraya’s almost as passionate about the throws, leaps, pummels and high-flying body slams in the wrestling ring as her parents were.

Of course, none of them could approach the devotion of her brother, Zak. He can identify every WWE wrestler just by a picture of his boots. He knows every move, every throw, every feint. He knows his stuff and is willing to teach Saraya (and the other kids in the area) the ropes, too. So, while wrestling with each other on Saturday nights, the siblings have become star attractions in sleepy Norwich.

Maybe someday, it will be more.

Then that day comes.

After sending multiple tapes of themselves battling in the ring to the WWE, Saraya and Zak finally get a call for an audition. An actual audition on the next rung of the ladder to potential WWE fame.

But then something terrible happens: Saraya passes the audition … and Zak doesn’t. It’s impossible. He’s the one who knows everything. She pleads with the auditioning coach. Surely there’s been a mistake. Surely he must take Zak, too.

Coach Hutch, however, is adamant: It’s Saraya or nobody. She has that spark, he explains. But she’ll need a new name, a ring name.

Zak goes home, desperately disappointed. Meanwhile, Saraya goes to Florida to take the next step in her suddenly solo pro wrestling journey. But to Saraya, going alone feels almost unbearable. Until, that is, Zak reminds her that there’s something bigger at stake: “You’re not just doing this for yourself,” Zak tells her. “You’re doing it for the family .”

So Saraya goes.

She will fight for her family.

She will fight for the chance none of them ever got.

She will adopt the name of a character from her favorite TV show, Charmed , calling herself … Paige .

And, somehow, she will make it in the WWE.

Positive Elements

During an impromptu interview, Saraya, now known publically as Paige, talks about the sense of comfort that being in the wrestling ring gives her. It’s the place where she was most able to connect with her family when she was growing up. It helped her “feel like she belonged somewhere.”

And that’s a big part of this film’s message. It’s not just a story of an underdog reaching for her potential, but of a family connecting and loving each other in the only way they really know how. For all of their faults, flaws and rough-edged failings, the one thing that’s clear is this family’s unwavering love for one another.

For example, when Paige comes home at one point and announces that she doesn’t want to continue with her training, both parents are initially shocked and almost angry. After all, she’s living out their dream. But both eventually come around, expressing once more their love and their unconditional support for whatever decision their daughter makes. “You are the spark in our lives,” Dad tells Paige lovingly.

In another situation, Paige recognizes that her brother is suffering. He has a girlfriend who loves him, as well as a newborn son. But all he can do is fixate on his depressed agony after losing out on his dream of being a pro wrestler. But Paige assures him that the impact he has with his family and the kids in the community is incredibly valuable. “Just ’cause millions of people aren’t cheering what you do, it doesn’t mean it’s not important,” she tells him. In time, Zak accepts that fact, too, and we see him reengage with the mother of his child and positively influence the lives of local kids.

Zak also has a conversation with his older brother, Roy. Years before, Roy had harbored professional WWE aspirations, too. But he tells Zak that their sister has something that Roy never had. Zak is curious to know what this is. “She had you,” Roy says simply.

At one point it feels as if Coach Hutch is making cruel choices with both Paige and her brother. But he later explains his reasons. And he notes the ways a failed attempt at fame—and the very tempting nature of fame itself—can be a destructive force in someone’s life. In fact, Coach Hutch admits, it’s the very thing that almost destroyed his own.

Spiritual Elements

When Paige freezes up onstage, a number of hecklers in the audience jeer at her. “The power of Christ compels you,” one of them calls out derisively.

Sexual Content

We see a number of young women training for the WWE spotlight along with Paige. They don’t have her wrestling skills, but they are all model and cheerleader types who expose much of their toned bodies at every turn. (And the camera’s eye is more than happy to linger on those bodies.) We see the women in skimpy bikinis and revealing gym wear. They also lounge around a pool with buff guys in swimsuits. The women flaunt their bodies in the ring to the cheers of predominantly male audiences. (Paige, on the other hand, never wears revealing gym wear, even during a big TV debut.)

Paige and others joke about a teen becoming sexually aroused during a workout. The boy grabs his crotch in embarrassment. There’s also a running joke about Zak accidentally exposing himself in a past wrestling match.

Paige’s mom and dad begin making out at the dinner table after talking about how they met and fell in love. We hear that Coach Hutch’s nick name is “Sextape” because of his ability to make people famous. It’s obvious that Zak and his girlfriend are not married. And if they marry during the course of the story, we don’t see or hear about it.

The coach lobs typical heckler insults at Paige in a practice session, and she deflects the harsh comments with crude innuendo and sexually tinged barbs of her own.

Violent Content

It’s often stated that pro wrestling is a “fake” sport, in the sense that the outcome of a match is predetermined and the performance is supposed to be choreographed to make it as safe and pain-free as possible. However, this film also demonstrates how painful, thumping violence is still part and parcel of the sport, no matter how “fake” it supposedly is.

For instance, while trying to book a fellow wrestler for a local gig, Dad thumps a guy in the face with a trash can lid and hits him in the crotch with a bowling ball, with expected results. We see Paige practicing with less-experienced female wrestlers, and one of them repeatedly elbows Paige in the face. She retaliates with an open hand slap to the girls head. In another match, a male wrestler purposely pulls no punches with Paige. He throws her down forcefully to the mat several times, then picks her up and slams down on top of her head before the match is halted.

A number of different people get pummeled in the ring and pounded into the ring floor. People are kicked in the chest and stomach. And some are grabbed by the neck and sent flying across the ring. Someone falls out of the ring onto a metal table, and another is slammed to a mat covered in thumbtacks. (We later watch him painfully pull the tacks out of his back.)

Zak starts a drunken brawl with four men, punching them, throwing pool balls at their bodies and heads and breaking a pool cue over one guy’s back. We’re told a story about Zak’s older brother, Roy, who did something similar—an incident that left a man in a coma and put Roy in prison. While talking about wrestling over dinner, Dad details some of the ways his body has been broken by the sport. And Mom suggests that his genitals have suffered, too. Mom also admits that she was on the verge of suicide before meeting Paige’s father and getting involved with wrestling.

Crude or Profane Language

About half a dozen s-words are joined by multiple uses each of “b–ch,” “b–tard,” “h—,” “d–n,” “a–” and “crap.” There are also numerous British vulgarities and crude phrases in the dialog’s mix, too, such as “bloody,” “w-nker,” “b-llocks,” “arse” and the phrase “d-ck me dead and bury me pregnant.” God and Jesus’ names are abused four or five times total. There are many vulgar references made to the male and female anatomy. Someone uses a crude hand gesture.

Drug and Alcohol Content

We see people drinking beer and alcohol in a bar and at home. A depressed Zak gets drunk. A youth in the Knights’ Norwich neighborhood sells drugs on the side. Zak discourages him from doing so and later even pulls him away from the dealer.

We hear that both Mom and Dad were heavy abusers of drugs and alcohol in their youth. In fact, Dad admits to being a teetotaling alcoholic.

Other Negative Elements

Dad says he was once a thief, for which he was sent to prison. He worries that he might have to return to that lifestyle.

Based on the real-life story of the World Wrestling Entertainment Diva champion known professionally as Paige, Fighting With My Family plays out like a WWE match itself. It’s a by-the-numbers underdog story—with bulging muscles, garish tattoos, fleshy curves and full-throated, artery-bulging, arms-above-your-head bellowing.

The film’s characters have a rough edged look. But in reality, when you look beneath the surface, they’re quite lovable folks. In fact, as played by the impressive Florence Pugh, Saraya “Paige” Knight is especially endearing. You can’t help but cheer for her. For that matter, you can’t help but cheer for her winsome and hard-hitting family members, too. The Knights all take on life with a standing leap from the top rope, while still openly loving one another with an earnest tear in their eye.

Also similar to a WWE match, however, are this movie’s inevitable low blows. The boo-worthy moments. That less-admirable stuff includes a long litany of fast-and-furious profanities. And British crudities likewise riddle nearly every square inch of this pic’s sweaty celluloid. Add in ample amounts of bikini-girl fleshiness, and you’ve got enough thumping content here to make some viewers stagger.

This film’s crude content side may not hurt as much as a chair to the head. But it still leaves a nasty mark on this otherwise inspirational story.

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

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Fighting With My Family Review

27 Feb 2019

Fighting With My Family

The WWE, back when it was known as WWF and there was no animal-based confusion, was the home of grown men in neon tights and face masks, wrestling other grown men in neon tights and face masks to respectable crowds in modest arenas. The World Wrestling Federation became World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. and, as the ‘inc’ would suggest, is now a billion-dollar, global-crowd-drawing enterprise. The men in tights have been joined by women in tights and one of the most well-known female performers of recent years is Paige — real name Saraya-Jade Bevis — a Norwich-born performer and daughter of the infamous family of wrestlers, the Knights.

Parents Patrick ‘Rowdy Ricky Knight’ ( Nick Frost ) and Julia ‘Sweet Saraya’ ( Lena Headey ) are obsessed with wrestling, running a local gym and putting on scrappy events. It’s an obsession passed down to their kids including Raya ( Florence Pugh ) and Zak ‘Zodiac’ ( Jack Lowden ) — “We’re riddled,” says Zak (“That’s not good,” retorts Raya. “You make it sound like hepatitis”). But cracks start to appear when the two attend try-outs for the WWE and only Raya — who takes on the wrestling name of Paige – is taken to Florida to train for the main roster.

Jack Lowden elevated the film beyond an average British heartwarmer.

The sweet, authentic, funny family dynamic is the steady heartbeat of the film — zeroing in on the emotional narrative of a working-class family — rather than the prison sentences and unplanned pregnancies, which feels like something of a revelation. It’s Jack Lowden as Zak who elevates the film beyond an average British heartwarmer with a performance of real power. He’s the man who was once the boy that could name every WWE wrestler just from looking at their boot. His desire is tangible, his desperation devastating and his unravelling provides some much-needed dramatic oomph.

Somewhat frustratingly, this isn’t matched by Florence Pugh as Raya/Paige. Not due to any lack of ability — Pugh is one of the finest young British actors working today — but you sense a lack of material. Her character is constructed from broad brushstrokes and you never truly get a sense of what drives her and what her fears and insecurities look like. Pugh imbues her with charm, defiance and brief splashes of vulnerability, but you are still left feeling dissatisfied with what little you really know of her as a wrestler and as a woman.

The film becomes most interesting in its exploration of the tension between the megabucks, sunshine-drenched world of American wrestling and the spit-and-sawdust British variant. Dwayne Johnson /The Rock appears in a funny if hammy cameo as the Knight kids first step into the world of WWE. There is a marked tonal contrast with later scenes as the gap between the siblings grows and we join Zak backstage as he gingerly picks drawing pins out of his back under a harsh, bare lightbulb.

But it’s Paige who we follow as she struggles with the brutal reality of the glossy American world — something played out through her relationship with WWE coach Hutch (a fairly underwhelming Vince Vaughn ). Sadly, she never punches through the tropes of the standard sport biopic and the film — especially in the final half an hour — relies on convenient narrative leaps to follow its triumphant underdog story through to its natural conclusion.

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'Fighting With My Family' Review: Stephen Merchant Gives WWE Fans The Wrestling Movie They Deserve

Dwayne Johnson now has a huge blockbuster career, but before that, he was one of the most popular professional wrestlers in the world. Now he's returning to his roots as himself in the new comedy Fighting with My Family , written and directed by  Stephen Merchant , the creator of the UK version of The Office .

But this isn't the story of The Rock. Rather, it's the true story of Divas wrestler Paige and how she worked her ass off and rose to WWE fame thanks to the support and obsession of her unconventional wrestling family. And the result is not only the wrestling movie fans have always wanted, but one of the best underdog sports movies ever made about a female athlete.

Fighting with My Family follows Florence Pugh ( The Commuter ) as Saraya Knight, the daughter of a family so obsessed with wrestling that they stage their own matches, rolling around with each other in the ring. Saraya's frequent opponent is also her inspiration: her older brother Zak ( Jack Lowden ). Both siblings have big dreams of going pro in the WWE.

There's also Nick Frost as Ricky Knight, their father and promoter. A rowdy former bank robber who pours everything he has into the World Association of Wrestling in Norwich, England, he keeps sending tapes of his kids to the WWE for consideration. He's married to the slightly less rough-around-the-edges Julia ( Lena Headey ), who dresses like Joan Jett and has no problem showing love for her kids and supporting their big dreams.

Even though the WWE proves resistant to the Knight family's self-solicitation, both Saraya and Zak get a chance to show what they're made of when the WWE brings a show to London's O2 arena...complete with tryouts looking for the next big wrestler. When Saraya makes the cut and Zak doesn't, the underdog sports formula unfolds, with a little bit of sibling jealousy thrown in for good measure. It's the kind of story you've seen dozens of times before, but there are several elements that make Fighting with My Family stand out in a crowd.

This is very much a British comedy, which is not something we see often in sports films and is practically non-existent in stories about wrestling. Merchant (who also appears in a bit part as Zak's girlfriend's clueless father) and his brand of humor bring big laughs to a story that could have felt like the dopey 2000 wrestling movie,  Ready to Rumble . Instead, Merchant leads with his working class sports heroes: they're blunt, proud, and hilariously inappropriate. That's a big part of what makes Saraya stand out in the ring, and it's also what makes her so thrilling to watch on screen.

Saraya is initially known as Britani in the ring, but the WWE already has a Diva with that name, so she becomes Paige. And when she arrives in America to get in proper shape for her debut in the NXT division (basically the WWE minor leagues), she certainly looks very different from the competition, who she perceives as blonde bimbos hailing from the world of cheerleading, dancing, and modeling. Since Paige looks more like a goth high school kid than a bikini model, she's not exactly the crowd favorite. But this affords the movie a unique opportunity, of which it takes full advantage.

Fighting with My Family  celebrates the woman at the center of its story, letting her stand out from the typical WWE crowd. Paige struggles with her identity and appearance in the ring – we watch as she tries to force herself into a dishonest image to win over fans –  but she realizes that being herself is what sets her apart from the pack. It's a simple and even cheesy message, but it's one that feels necessary when telling the stories of female athletes.

Even more satisfying is how the film approaches sisterhood in the WWE. At first, Paige feels pitted against her female counterparts, judging them based on their looks and surface-level behavior. But they end up striking a bond with one another and developing a real camaraderie, forming a found family. It's welcoming and charming... especially since these women are competing for a job that will have them battling it out in the ring.

And of course, there are a handful of real professional wrestlers who make cameos, including Dwayne Johnson as himself (where he throws a hilarious jab at Fast and Furious franchise co-star Vin Diesel).

Of course, this is  a sports movie and it leans on the usual tropes and cliches. There are training montages aplenty (enforced by Vince Vaughn as the WWE's sarcastic scout/drill instructor), missteps for Paige to make along the way, and, since this is a true story, ultimately a triumphant climax. However, Merchant mixes up the formula by also tracking Zak as he struggles with being left behind. This may be a story about following your dreams, but it's also about accepting that life isn't over if you don't.

Stephen Merchant and Dwayne Johnson may make for an odd pairing, but that's appropriate for a movie about families, both makeshift and otherwise. And that makes this a special kind of uplifting sports flick, one that even non-wrestling fans can enjoy.

/Film rating: 8 out of 10 Fighting with My Family hits theaters on February 14, 2019 .

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Fighting with my Family Parent Guide

A movie that's so much fun it might make you interested in professional wrestling....

This heartwarming family comedy gives a glimpse into the life of WWE star Paige. Born into a wrestling family, she is thrilled when given an opportunity to try out for the WWE. Unfortunately working her way through the cut-throat wrestling world proves tougher than she thought.

Release date February 22, 2019

Run Time: 108 minutes

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by keith hawkes.

Fighting with My Family is the touching true story of WWE wrestler Saraya “Paige” Bevis, a young girl from Norwich who dreams of competing at the highest levels of professional wrestling. With help from her father Ricky (Nick Frost), a local wrestling promoter, and mother Julia (Lena Headey), a wrestler herself, Paige and her brother Zack (Jack Lowden) struggle to succeed in the taxing world of wrestling. When the WWE holds tryouts nearby, both Paige and Zack are invited to attend. However, when only Paige is chosen to proceed, Zack takes it hard. Will Paige be able to put aside her brother’s ill feelings and complete the training? And will she be able to see past her own struggles to get the championship belt she has dreamed about for so long?

This movie has a very My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets Creed vibe, with all of the quirky family fun of the former and the competitive sport tradition of the latter. As the title suggests, family is very much at the center of this film, and Paige’s friends and relatives have more than enough personality to make the whole movie shine. Individuals are witty but still realistically flawed, making for a really appealing cast of characters. Ricky and Coach Hutch Morgan (Vince Vaughn) stood out for me as some of the funniest characters in the script, but both characters are convincingly complex and have shadows in their past. And Stephen Merchant’s smart, snappy dialogue adds zest to the entire production.

Content concerns are surprisingly minimal. Obviously, parents might be worried about the violence, but it’s made very clear that these moves are designed not to hurt your opponent, but to look impressive. There are quite a few jokes about male genitalia, but nothing too extreme or detailed, and very little else that would be sexually provocative. The film’s PG-13 rating is appropriate: teens will have a good time at this movie, but it is not suitable for children.

Apart from an awful cover of “Taking Care of Business” by BTO, I actually had a lot of fun with this movie. Despite using a fairly predictable sports movie formula, Fighting with My Family manages to be both funny and heartfelt. Much like wrestling, the outcome is predetermined, but the performance is something to see.

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Keith hawkes, watch the trailer for fighting with my family.

Fighting with my Family Rating & Content Info

Why is Fighting with my Family rated PG-13? Fighting with my Family is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for crude and sexual material, language throughout, some violence and drug content

Violence: As you might expect from a film about wrestling, the film contains a lot of that specific kind of “stage” violence. Normally this is constrained to the sort of punching, kicking, and throwing which is typical of wrestling. However, some stage antics were particularly unsettling, notably one in which a young man is thrown onto a pile of thumbtacks on the mat and is shown picking them out of his back. A barfight is shown, in which several punches are exchanged, an individual throws a pool ball at someone, and threatens several others with a pool cue. Sexual Content: No nudity is shown. There are a number of jokes about male genitalia, but these are not particularly explicit. One character is briefly teased for having an erection, although it is not shown. An unmarried couple gives birth to a child, but no sexual behavior is shown. Profanity: There are perhaps a dozen uses of profanity in the “Moderate” category, and another dozen more in the “Mild” and “Terms of Deity” categories. Alcohol / Drug Use: No drug use is shown, but one character is implied to be selling marijuana (this is portrayed extremely negatively, and other characters are shown talking him out of doing so). One character is shown drinking several beers alone, and this is also portrayed negatively as part of a downward spiral. Several characters in the movie make a point of not drinking, one by choice and one to avoid relapsing into alcoholism.

Page last updated May 13, 2019

Fighting with my Family Parents' Guide

Loved this movie try these books….

Perfected by Girls by Alfred C Martino is a novel about Mel, the only girl on the high school wrestling team as she deals with misogyny on the team, family expectations at home, and a boyfriend who is pressuring her to have sex. This book does contain some sexual content and dialogue which most parents will see as a negative counterweight to its positive messages.

For a gossipy look at a woman’s inside perspective on pro wrestling, you can try Missy Hyatt’s memoir: Missy Hyatt: First Lady of Wrestling.

John Irving has combined memories of wrestling with meditations on writing in his book, The Imaginary Girlfriend: A Memoir.

Wrestling fans who enjoy the verbal putdowns that are such a big part of the sport will want to read Glenn Liebman’s Body Slams! In-Your-Face Insults from the World of Pro Wrestling.

The most recent home video release of Fighting with my Family movie is May 14, 2019. Here are some details…

Related home video titles:.

For a comic take on the world of wrestling, check out Jack Black in Nacho Libre

The Marine features John Cena, a WWE celebrity in real life and manages to work wrestling into its (admittedly weak) plot.

A movie about teenagers who want to wrestle is Win Win . It stars Paul Giamatti as a financially stressed lawyer who is earning extra cash by coaching the local high school wrestling team.

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Fighting With My Family review – wrestling biopic lacks punch

Directed by Stephen Merchant and featuring a cameo from the Rock, the true story of British-born WWE wrestler Paige never gets to grips with its subject

D espite a sparkling A-list cast including but not limited to Florence Pugh , Nick Frost and Dwayne Johnson reprising his legendary “Rock” persona, despite a great real-life background story, and despite comedy master Stephen Merchant being at the helm as writer-director, this movie never really comes off.

The elements of humour, sentimentality and gonzo wrestling action hang awkwardly together – and Johnson as himself is the most uncomfortable I’ve ever seen him on screen. Comedy and irony are not allowed to encroach on the film’s upbeat message, and the drama doesn’t reach out beyond a wrestling fanbase.

It’s based on the true story of the British-born WWE wrestler Paige who started in the ring as a teenager for her mum and dad’s Norwich-based family promotion and got a heartstopping shot at glory in the American big league.

Her family’s knockabout tale was the subject of a likable Channel 4 documentary in 2012. Now, with the corporate blessing of The Rock and WWE, it is inflated to the status of inspirational comedy-heartwarmer.

Pugh is the badass Paige, Frost and Lena Headey are her grip’n’grappling mum and dad, and Jack Lowden is her brother and fellow wrestler Zak, who must deal with his macho jealousy when Paige impresses the Americans.

Unfortunately, the central theme of her fractious relationship with her family is weakened when she spends so much time away from them in America trying out for the WWE under reality-show conditions, while Vince Vaughn phones in his performance as the tough coach.

Meanwhile, the film confusingly has to create a quasi-family of competitive-slash-supportive American wannabe wrestlers that Paige is up against, while she is away from her actual family.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t some funny lines. The Americans love Paige’s accent: “You sound just like a Nazi in a movie!”

• Drama films
• Stephen Merchant
• Dwayne Johnson (The Rock)
• Sport films
• Comedy films

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