Fighting with My Family

I was so, so close to giving this film five stars. What annoyed me was the occasional moralizing and melodrama, but that’s about it. Nick Frost was perfect, his character was certainly different from his standard "suit" roles. In fact, the whole Knight family was great. I also think that wrestling was shown in a slightly different light (sure, it's pre-planned, but it's for real) and I was more than happy with the number of funny lines. // "You're a teenager and you're blind. What else are you gonna do today? Listen to porn?" 4*+ (04/08/2019)

On the surface Fighting with My Family is a mediocre biopic set in female wrestling, but it works thanks to a decently written story and the believable performances of Florence Pugh, Nick Frost and The Rock. Thanks to the overbearing parents, the film had a humorous edge that balanced out the ordeal Paige had to go through on her way to her dream goal. In the end, this is a very enjoyable little film! (02/11/2019)

Surprise of the year? At first glance, Fighting with my Family seemed like an indie festival film that no one will remember after a week, but the unexpectedly very positive reviews and its release in cinemas did the film a lot of good and I left the cinema very satisfied. Florence Pugh, who kick-started her career last year with Outlaw King, is absolutely excellent, her career is going to take off rapidly with the upcoming Midsommar and Little Women. The film deals with the rather novel subject of wrestling and with a socially disadvantaged family who have and can do nothing but wrestle. Everything changes when the son and daughter are invited to a WWE casting. The first act manages dry British black humour with very solid lines. After that the film becomes more of a sports drama, yet very powerful, moving and entertaining. Vince Vaughn is rightly stern as the trainer, and I must say that his progression from an average comedian to a very solid actor was very unexpected, but he already played the captain perfectly in Hacksaw Ridge, his transformation was most striking in Brawl in Cell Block 99, and we'll see what he does in Dragged Across Concrete. The Rock in a smaller role is a delight and there are brief glimpses of wrestling legends. I shed a tear during the finale, so satisfaction. "Dick me dead, and bury me pregnant." 80% (19/03/2019)

A young Englishwoman gets a chance to fight her way into the prestigious wrestling organization WWE. She knows she'll have to work very hard for it, but she doesn't count on how much this chance will affect the lives of those closest to her. Stephen Merchant delivers a brisk feel-good biopic from an unusual setting with fun characters and an incredibly fine Florence Pugh in the lead role. You should see Fighting with My Family for her alone. But even the rest is well above average. (18/06/2019)

Surprisingly, everything I feared here works very well. Dwayne Johnson fulfils his role of adored icon to perfection, the humour is not embarrassing or trodden, and wrestling is a welcome spin on boxing, especially in the performance of the charismatic and emotional Florence Pugh. The tried-and-tested template is strictly adhered to, but everything works as it should, and the supporting characters are mostly not just numbers. Pleasant little surprise. 75% (03/05/2019)