Fighting With My Family (2019)

I don't make it a habit to go see movies with the WWE Productions label. Mostly that is because the dross that WWE Productions produces very rarely makes it to theaters. Mostly the WWE produces direct-to-dvd sequels to movies that were never that popular in the first place: most recently, they released The Marine 6, co-starring Old Man Shawn Michaels.

Anyway, I'm skeptical of any movie that bears WWE's signature, OK?

Which is why I was immediately interested when I first heard of Fighting With My Family (2019), the story of Saraya-Jade Bevis, otherwise known as WWE Superstar Paige. The film had locked Stephen Merchant (erstwhile collaborator of Ricky Gervais) into writing and directing duties, which gave the film a marked pedigree that could not be ignored.

In the weeks leading up to the film's release, the reviews began to pour in, and the movie's Tomatometer score stood at 91%. It isn't often that you get to go see a wrestling movie in theaters. It's rarer still to see one with such a good critical response. So the wife and I decided to take a trip to the movies.

I. What is It?

This is the story of the Knights: they are a wrestling family in Norwich. Saraya and Zak are brother and sister and it is their dream to become WWE Superstars. After a fateful tryout, Saraya gets a ticket to WWE developmental, and her brother gets a pass. What happens when you finally get to live your dream? And what happens when you have to watch your younger sister live your dream for you?

II. By the Numbers

This is a classic feel-good underdog story. It is fairly predictable, and soars through the requisite storytelling beats like a studious teacher's pet (The Dark Night of the Soul, The Training Montages, and the Moment of Victory!). But there is a reason stories like this are so cliche: they work. They make you feel good. They stir the blood with inspiration and plaster a smile on your face.

As simple and straightforward as this film is, it does succeed at eliciting an emotional response from its audience. It is hard to fault the movie for being so simple when it does its simplicity with style and wit. I laughed out loud on multiple occasions, and felt genuine heartache for the characters at moments.

III. A Great Script Can Solve a Lot of Problems

Stephen Merchant's script is the real MVP here. Merchant's dialogue is funny, and manages to get away with a lot considering the PG-13 rating, and he manages to streamline Paige's story into a workable underdog tale (even if it feels kind of like it all happens in a flash). The story is breezy, inspiring and fun. Not everything has to be Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler (2008): and thank god for that.

IV. A Stacked Roster

The cast is just brilliant. Florence Pugh is a a rising star, and she proves it, here. She breathes life into this character and makes you care about her. Jack Lowden, who plays Zak, is a font of silent tragedy, and his chemistry with Pugh is heartwarming, even when he's being a bit of a bastard.

Nick Frost and Lena Headey are having a ball as Ricky and Julia, and manage to make the absurd family dynamic work. These are people who have scrapped for everything that they have, but they love each other, even if they express that love with headlocks and bodyslams.

Does anyone do Lovable Rogue better than Vince Vaughn? His Coach Hutch is a hard man, but his hardness comes from a place of care. He pushes his pupils to be the best, and is heartbreakingly honest with them when they are in over their heads. He's a man who knows the life, and what it takes from a person. His monologue about putting the shine on other people is as close as the film comes to acknowledging the dark side of the wrestling world. It would have been nice to get more of that, but this is a family film, and a piece of WWE propaganda to boot: we can't linger in the muck too long.

This cast is wonderful: everyone seems to be having a good time, and that energy is infectious.

V. Too Many Rest Holds

This film is not long: it is a comparatively brisk 108 minutes. But it sags in the middle. In order to give us the full underdog experience, the movie has to hew too closely to rote plot elements which cause a general sagging of momentum in the middle of the film. I can't help but feel that there was a better way to tell this story. Maybe the film tries to bite off more than it can reasonably chew.

Like a good wrestling match, the film starts with verve and nails its big spots, but it drags somewhat in the middle.

VI. Should You See It?

This is a light-hearted family comedy that doesn't demand much of its viewer. Grab yourself some candy and a bucket of popcorn, and strap yourself in for some pleasant entertainment.

Miscellany

- Much of the filming took place at actual WWE Raw and Smackdown tapings in 2017.
- Ultimately, Paige was forced to retire from in-ring activity in 2018, after re-aggravating a neck injury originally sustained in 2016. As a fan who had seen her on-air retirement, the film was leant a real tragic underscoring, especially Hutch's monologue about what the life of a wrestler can take from a person.
- The film gets a little janky with actual history, as NXT did not exist as "NXT" when Paige was signed. Originally, WWE's developmental brand was called FCW (Florida Championship Wrestling). Paige also had a lengthy stay in NXT, and was NXT's Women's Champion when she had her fateful match against AJ Lee. She carried both women's titles for some time before becoming an official main roster-only Superstar. I imagine the filmmakers massaged such details to make things more coherent with the current product.
- The film wrote out Paige's sister, who is a dentist.
- Dwayne The Rock Johnson was inspired to make this movie after watching a documentary about the Knights. His participation in Paige's story is another of WWE's fanciful fabrications for the film.