Based on the youngest 18 year old English wrestling professional Saraya- Jade “Paige” Bevis, the latest MGM film “Fighting With My Family” stars Dwayne “the rock” Johnson as he showcases his former wrestling days with WWE and coach, Hutch (played by Vince Vaughn) with a new generation of wrestlers who come onto the scene, in the form of Paige and her competing brother, Zac, Zodiac.
Played by relative newcomer, Florence Pugh, the actress has a distinct way of capturing the real experience of Paige, from performing with her wrestling family in England to training alongside wrestling greats and finally moving on to compete and win the coveted Diva title from long running champion “AJ Lee”. Pugh also has a distinct technique in which she uses to interact with the cast including her brother, (played by Dunkirk’s Jack Lowden), whom various times, one sees in sprawling matches where skill and agility is used to make some of the most difficult block techniques in the wrestling ring.
Both characters of Paige and Zac go through a sense of development as the wrestling realm takes an unexpected turn where one moves on and the other goes home. The actors themselves convey realistic portrayals of the very real struggles that both ultimately go through and in the end only one thing is important and that is the fact that everything that is done is done for the family.
The film also stars “Galavant’s” Nick Frost and “Sarah Conners Chronicles’” Lena Headey as the dysfunctional parents who ultimately just want a good life for their children, though they do have to intervene when a little rough housing turns into a bit of a hassle, and the dynamic of them in the picture adds to the very realistic idea of a supportive yet ridiculously odd family.
Ultimately the stunts used to portray realistic wrestling is spot on as one can see a lot of time and skill was put into the making of the film. The ending also like other biographies before this one, followed the same style where the real life WWE wrestling siblings showed just how the film was made as a whole. Of course, the last element which added to the dynamic is that of music which was strategically placed including the iconic song, “Taking Care of Business” which was used as Paige’s comeback song, in the same way that the Rocky theme was used for in the Rocky films when Sly Stallone comes back after his fall.
The film, rated PG 13, ultimately has nothing majorly wrong with it, though there are a few adult jokes that could have parents concerned. That being said, it’s a humorous true story with a heartfelt message which is one of family being the most important thing, even when dreams come true to never forget who and what we’re all fighting for. It also tells a subsequent message of not underestimating the importance of everyone, no matter how insignificant an outcome, that sometimes no to one dream means yes to an alternative future.
At an hour forty eight minute runtime, Fighting With My Family will have everyone in the theater laughing at the jokes and welling up on the possibility of an underdog from Europe making it in the US and going on to win a most coveted prize. The film came out in theaters February 22, 2018 and is currently playing in one near you.