'Fighting With My Family' A Review

Fighting With My Family is a biopic/sports dramedy about aspiring English professional wrestler Saraya "Paige" Knight(Florence Pugh). The movie opens in Norwich, England with Paige and Zak(Jack Lowden) as kids being brought into the family business of wrestling by their parents Patrick(Nick Frost) and Julia(Lena Headey). Flash forward and the Knights are happy but struggling to make a living operating a regional wrestling company. Both Zak and Paige get a shot at joining WWE's farm team when a scout comes to town but only Paige is tapped to go to Florida to train. Paige struggles to carve out an identity and distinguish herself in clash and battles the resentment from her brother as well as pressures from her parents.

Pugh as the lead does well and doesn't shy away from some of the more awkward or painful moments of her transformation. She is supported tremendously by the talents of the other actors playing her family. Lowden gives his character some much needed solidity and both Frost and Headey compliment and lend credence to their onscreen children. The supporting cast are all good, the story doesn't call for a ton of depth nor is that required, a throughline of relatively even sincerity is stuck to and as such there are no real performance highlights there are no missteps either.

Visually the film is relatively workman-like save for the wrestling matches and training which are all excellently choreographed and feel real and there is a substantial amount of them. For a movie about wrestling its well that there is actual wrestling in it. The narrative is balanced well not only with Paige's journey but with Zak's back in Norwich with almost equal consideration given to both. As such the movie slightly side steps some of the more well worn tropes this particular genre can fall into.

A fun, heartwarming story, straightforward but not terribly unique in its execution.

Rent It.