User Reviews

Had to double take on the director and writer and make sure if it was THE Stephen Merchant writing and directing this film and it turned out it was so that was interesting. I used to be a super huge WWE fan from 1999-2011. By super huge I mean, I used to watch every show religiously and know everything about each athlete. I'm familiar with Paige through sporadic watching here and there and seeing her on Total Divas and am certainly not a fan of her or how she carries herself but this film was a fairly fun albeit cliched film.

The film tells the story of Saraya "Paige" Bevis and her background. Her family are all wrestling crazed and put on wrestling shows and train others in Norwich. Paige and her brother get called up for a WWE tryout but only Paige makes the cut. Paige's brother is devastated and Paige must deal with the drastic change in her life and the hard road to living out her dream.

Florence Pugh is already an established talent in my eyes because of her performance in Lady Macbeth. She's really fantastic in this, and disappears into the role of a WWE hopeful. The writing of Merchant and the care with which he gives to the comedy, the drama, and the heart involved in developing the characters is great. Its crazy to think that Merchant did not know a thing about wrestling before taking on the project. Side note: Merchant was in attendance at my screening for a Q and A and gave good insight into the project.

The film can't help feeling cliched. Training montage, sibling rivalry leading to a profound confrontation that resolves the issue, and the underdog overcoming the odds. I find it weird that real life Paige was just given the WWE Divas championship on her WWE debut but whatever. Overall, the film maintains a good balance of comedy and drama and you don't need to know anything about WWE or sports entertainment to enjoy the film. Merchant does a good job.

7/10

Siblings Saraya and Zac have been into wrestling for as long as they can remember. Born into a wrestling-mad family they now run a wrestling clinic for kids and take part in the regular wrestling shows and tournaments their parents produce. Their chance to hit the big time arrives when the WWE has auditions in the UK. Could this be their big break?

Thanks to the trailer, I had very low expectations for this. The trailer made the film look very silly and low brow. I wouldn't have watched if it wasn't for a friend pointing out that the film is nothing like the trailer and is far better than it seems.

Turns out they were right. Rather than lowest-common-denominator slapstick the plot is interesting and is complete with some great, clever humour and an engaging warmth. Moves at a good pace: the time just flies by.

All this aided by some solid performances. Florence Pugh is great as Saraya and she is ably supported by Nick Frost, Lena Headey and Jack Lowden as her family. Even Vince Vaughn, usually the kiss of death for any film or TV series, puts in a solid, engaging performance.

All this coming from someone who is not into WWE or wrestling at all.

On the negative side, it does end feeling like just another Rocky remake. Still, it was a funny and interesting journey getting there.

Full disclosure first, I am a wrestling fan and I knew the majority of Paige's story and how the WWE and pro-wrestling works before seeing this.

The Knight family love professional wrestling. It has changed the lives of Julia (Lena Headey) and Ricky (Nick Frost) and their passion has transferred to their three children, particularly to their son Zak (Jack Lowden) and daughter Saraya (Florence Pugh). Having grown up performing for the families Norwich based federation, a shot at the big time comes when both children are asked to attend try-outs for World Wrestling Entertainment.

All that said, you don't really need to know anything about wrestling to enjoy "Fighting with My Family". It's a relatable story of someone from an unlikely background overcoming the odds to find success far from home. It's has a very British sense of humour, with lots of jokes with swearwords or about class differences, both between the Knights and Zak's prospective in-laws and between Paige and her peers once she's over in the performance centre. It probably has slightly too much swearing to be a real family film, but is still pretty gentle in its overall tone and themes. What makes the film successful is the performances of actors in the key roles. Frost and Headey are great, as is Florence Pugh, who continues to be a star on the rise after her performance in "Little Drummer Girl" last year. It's Jack Lowden, however, who has the most to do and excels with it, dealing with the disappointments and temptations that his life gives him as a parallel to his sisters.

That perhaps leads to me the films biggest weakness, despite how unlikely it seems, Paige's journey isn't perhaps that extraordinary. She's way more talented and experienced than any of her colleagues but struggles a bit to overcome her own awkwardness. It's not so much an emotional rollercoaster as it is a jittering ski lift. To combat that, we get the opposing journey of Zak which, if anything, is actually more interesting, as he struggles with fatherhood, disillusionment and jealously before coming to terms and reconciling with his family.

"Fighting with My Family" is an entertaining and funny film if a little slight and though I can't imagine it's going to be anybody's favourite film of all time, it's a lot of fun to watch and I'm sure would be enjoyed by anyone.

A little bonus if you are a fan of the UK wrestling scene from the past few years is spotting cameos from current stars. Dave Mastiff and Kip Sabian are two of the most obvious but there's a few more (and a dig a Pete Dunne which is funny, if slightly confusing).

I watched this at home on BluRay from my public library. When it first came out the title threw me, I don't like seeing movies of families fighting. But I didn't understand, this is about a family where mom, dad, brother, and sister are all wrestlers.

It is based on the true story of a real British family. Florence Pugh (who I found so good in the 2016 Lady Macbeth) plays the lead character, Saraya Knight, who longed to get a break and get into the WWE as a featured wrestler. When she gets the chance she finds out it is harder than she ever imagined, including leaving her home and family behind to train in the USA.

All of the first half-hour and much of the remainder is in England, as such it contains much of the uniqueness of British characters, British humor, and British mannerisms. Viewers who don't appreciate that may not enjoy the movie, but I enjoyed it very much. There is a very nice story here and the actors bring it to life very well.

One of my favorite movies of 2019.

Edit: I watched it again in March 2020, a really entertaining movie.

REVIEW - FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY

At first glance this film is a very British film and watching it I thought would American film goers even go to see it because it is very British, the humour, the accents, the houses but at the end of the film I actually realised the most important thing, something that isn't even being used for the promotion of this feel good film, it's actually a true story!

Yes an underdog from Norwich did win the Diva WWE championship belt, not once but twice!

Typical feel good film, made in the best of British style and Dwayne The Rock Johnson producing!

I will admit I was pleasantly surprised by this film and actually laughed out loud at a few of the British jokes included, because of this I now will have to eat my words and take back what I said at the start of this review, yes this appeals to British film goers and yes it will certainly appeal to American film goers also, good call Steven Merchant

Rating 7 out of 10

Fighting With My Family was for sure worth the hype. As a long time fan of Paige and the Knight family, I was very excited to see this film and it did not disappoint. Florence Pugh did an amazing job portraying Paige to the point that you would think they are twins. The story itself is very heartwarming and incredible. Fighting With My Family is for sure a must see.

The film was hilarious and it made me laugh constantly, I'm not familiar with the true story so I can't talk about that but I went to the cinema to watch a film that would make me laugh and it did just that.

Ok, so I have been a wrestling fan since I was a kid, BUT my wife has not been a fan but we both really enjoyed this film. It has great acting, comedy, and a behind the scenes look at the success and failures of hard work and determination. I enjoyed the brothers point of view more than Paiges. I would recommend this movie to wrestling fans and people who enjoy a good story that has laughs and struggles to go with it. Go see it.

I'm never been a big fan of professional wrestling, but Fighting with My Family does a good job of making you care about the characters, which, in turn, makes you care about their dreams of making it into the WWE. I was really impressed by the performances of Florence Pugh and Jack Lowden. Yes, this movie is largely fictionalized but, then again, so is pro wrestling.

The movie itself althought it is a biography, doesnt strike with me too much....there were a couple of good scenes with a good laugh. Dwayne is on a poster, but giving the fact that there is no more than 3minutes of footage with him is bit of a shame and thinking about it, he shouldnt even be on the poster. Movie itself is not something which bursts with awe or some heart crushing moments which would make me watch it again. I will recommend it to any WWE fan and anybody who loves drama-biography...but there are a load of better movies than this one.

This is a very British working class comedy which centres around a wrestling mad family and their dreams of stardom. Its based on a true story and roughly around a documentary of the family made recently. At the helm is one of the writers of The Office, the superior UK version not the US remake. Also on board are a few American actors and Nick Frost from Spaced. The tone of the movie is something like the commitments or Full Monty, you may need to be British to get some of the humour. Fortunately not all movies are made with the states in mind. It is very funny however some of the language and scenes of violence may not make it suitable for smaller kids. Also I have no interest or knowledge of wrestling but that didnt detract from the enjoyment of the movie. This is not a mega-bucks The Rock vehicle, its a low key small budget UK flick with no real surprises but a few laughs along the way. Its quite enjoyable. Also the last thing, the reviewer know as "thebricks" used the final section of his review to call the UK a dump and suggest the people here just drink and fight which is highly offensive to us in the UK. The fact that despite it being flagged twice for being offensive and off topic shows the mods do not seem to care about xenophobia. That being the case then I reckon the US is a dump full of obese low IQ xenophobes who don't understand anything outside of their own trailer park. This movie is not for them.

Like all good 'sports' (or 'activity') movies, 'Fighting With My Family (2019)' cuts to the heart of its story and appeals to all audiences, whether or not they're fans of its focal pastime. In this case, that pastime is wrestling, which I have a passing knowledge of but no real deep affinity for - or, indeed, understanding of. Yet, this flick had me gripped, even during the purely in-ring segments. It follows a familiar 'rags to riches' story but sprinkles, unsurprisingly, a hefty dose of family drama on there, too. It's characters are crafted to be likeable, believable and flawed. They're given a fair bit to overcome, which is why it's all the more satisfying whenever they do so. The stakes are also slightly unconventional, usually being more internal than is customary with the genre. The comedy, while sometimes fairly broad, frequently puts a smile on your face and often makes you chuckle. It adds to the overall entertainment value of a piece that isn't afraid to veer into slightly darker territory. The narrative itself is clean and constantly forward-moving. The only real issue is the somewhat rushed finale, which makes the protagonist's shift from 'time to train' to 'this is your big shot' seem incredibly - and unbelievably - quick. It's not a huge issue, though, and the finish itself is satisfying, mainly because Merchant wisely chooses to hold his cards closer to his chest here. All of this makes for a winning formula: a feel-good, self-professed 'Rocky (1976)'-esque, funny yet heartfelt tale which might not be all that unique but earns its emotional beats and ultimate outcome pretty much twofold. 7/10

With current poltical noise and extreme Winter climes, I chose to go and see this movie. It's hilarious, filled with tender, and endearing moments. Worth the money! Thanks to The Rock!

Enjoyed it right from the start till it got over , though it was predictable but it did not bore you at all .

Got a chance to see this film at an early screening and I have to say it is one of the best funniest, heartwarming movie of 2019.

Fighting With My Family is a 2019 Biopic film starring Florence Pugh,Nick Frost and a special appearance by Dwanye Johnson as himself.

The story is about a young woman from the UK named Paige(Pugh) who dreams of becoming a wrestler so she travels to the United States to complete in the WWE.

The story is good,the acting is terrific and overall it was a very good film with a good message telling the audience to never give up on their dreams.

I stopped watching WWF about 10 years or so ago, around the time the Rock and others were leaving...but I STILL loved this movie.

Fun coming of age story with a great amount of laughter, drama, and of course wrestling. Well paced with decent writing and all the actors do well in their roles. For wrestling fans and non fans alike. There's something for everyone to like.

.. I think it was a good movie. I think if you're a wrestling fan, you'll enjoy it. If you're not, you'll think it was just okay. The Rock's moments were pretty much what you see in the commercials so if he's why you would wanna see it, I'm afraid I have some bad news for ya. But, it's the typical movie of stardom, just wrestling style. I was happy with it...

This movie is bland but has some funny moments and some very subtle inspirational scenes, weirdly good but very basic. I was happy to see Dwayne Johnson Portray the rock again. Definitely brought me to some nostalgia days back when i used to watch wrestling as a kid with my grandmother. Vince Vaughn brought another dodgeball inspired acting style to the screen, pretty much the same old acting he always does Trite and boring in every movie but good for him he's made a great career out of it you cant blame the guy. Overall Not the worst experience for Flupa! at the movies so far..!

I write this as someone with literally zero interest in or knowledge of wrestling. FWMF is indistinguishable from any other sporting underdog movie. It follows exactly the same trajectory as The Mighty Ducks, Cool Runnings, Eddie the Eagle, etc. What it does have going for it is the wonderful Florence Pugh, who has never looked better (I love the Goth aesthetic), and enough humour to keep you from falling asleep.