Fighting With My Family

Fighting With My Family – English amateur wrestler, Saraya, dreams of one day holding the title of WWE Divas Champion so when the chance to compete for a spot in the WWE comes along, she and her wrestler brother, Zak, jump at it. When only Saraya is chosen, Zak falls into a deep depression while Saraya (now Paige) struggles to keep up with the training and feels out of place. It seems as the other women there have been chosen for their looks and athletic ability rather than experience as wrestlers. Being alone so far from home and suffering with her own insecurities, Paige may not have what it takes to become the champion she’s always wanted to be.

Fighting With My Family (2019) – Director: Stephen Merchant

Rating: 12

Running Length: 108 mins

Starring: Florence Pugh, Jack Lowden, Vince Vaughn

Genre: Sport, Comedy

REVIEW: ‘FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY’

Based on the true story of WWE fighter, Paige, ‘Fighting With My Family’ is both a rags-to-riches and fish-out-of-water comedy which shows the origins of the wrestler right up until her first important fight for the WWE. Florence Pugh, who plays Paige, is excellent as the girl with a foul mouth and a heart of gold. Her genuine warmth shines through as she lurches from each huge decision to the later consequences. Her fish out of water story is contrasted via her brother Zak, (the excellent Jack Lowden). Zak, not picked for the WWE despite living and breathing the dream for longer suffers terribly being left behind.

In less talented hands, the crudeness of ‘Fighting With My Family’ could spoil an otherwise good story but Stephen Merchant knows exactly where to pitch a down to earth, working class family that enjoy colourful language and are loving and fully supportive of each other. When Zak turns his back on his sister his issues are made all the more powerful due to the family unit being so relatable. The language may be jarring but it’s impossible not to root for these people! Despite building confidence in her home town and with her family, Paige’s struggle to wrestle in the big, wide world brings home that her ‘normal’ isn’t the same as everyone else’s. The isolation she feels pushes her into a self-destructive mentality that almost ruins everything she’s worked so hard for, and Merchant constantly brings it back to: what did Paige enjoy about wrestling in the first place?

The couple of cameos from Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson are excellently placed to show just how different English amateur wrestling is to the glossy American professionals. And despite Paige’s fellow female WWE hopefuls being ‘models and cheerleaders’, they are never treated disrespectfully and prove themselves to be worthy of the chance they have been given. Due to the language and overall dialogue, ‘Fighting With My Family’ may not be to everyone’s taste but the excellent story, characterisation and acting are the finishers of a movie that has even more heart and soul than any babyface in the ring.

CONTENT: IS ‘FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

A brother (older) and sister (younger) get into a fight in their house. Their parents come in but instead of breaking up the fight they encourage them to continue; the Dad tells the boy ‘If you really want to choke her out, interlock your fingers’. While the family are loving and this seems part and parcel of being in a ‘wrestling’ family, this casual attitude of an older, bigger boy being encouraged to ‘choke out’ a younger girl may not be a good message for children.

The mother tells the girl that winning in the wrestling ring is like ‘coke, crack and cocaine combined’, the daughter asks if she’s done this, the mum hesitate before saying ‘Not combined’.

As he’s walking passed her, Zak puts his used jock strap on Saraya’s head, she is disgusted by this but laughs and chastises him.

Zak chases after a friend who hasn’t been at the family’s gym for some time. He finds a small stash of illegal substances on him (likely marijuana) which he throws in a nearby dumpster. The friend half-heartedly protests but accepts what Zak does. As they leave, an older woman who has seen this happen reaches into the dumpster and takes the package for herself.

While training, a young man puts Saraya into a hold where he is behind her. She loudly asks him ‘Have you got a stiffy?’ and laughs. He is embarrassed by this and tells her that he can’t help it.

In a funny scene, a middle-aged wrestler sits in an office and is asked whether he is willing to be hit in the face with a metal bin lid. he agrees and is hit immediately. He lurches backwards and takes a moment but is ok. He is then asked if he is willing to be hit with a bowling ball in the crotch, again he agreeing and hit straightaway. He groans in pain but is otherwise fine.

The family is always struggling for money and while discussing their options, the mum jokingly suggests that Saraya could ‘go on the game’ (into prostitution).

Zak is teased about the size of his manhood to which his counters that it’s big enough to get his girlfriend ‘up the duff’ (pregnant).

There are a couple of times when Saraya’s dad mentions a body part with crude language and then corrects himself, trying to sound better but says is something just as bad or worse.

The term ‘dick me dead and bury me pregnant’ is used twice by two female characters.

When the family receive good news, Saraya’s dad tells someone to go to the corner shop and ‘nick (us) a bottle of champagne’.

Trying to be friendly, an American woman comments on Saraya’s accent saying ‘You sound like a Nazi in a movie!’

Accidentally using a double entendre, a woman says ‘I’m going to blow you…out of the water!’ She doesn’t realise what she’s said but others who have picked up on it laugh at her choice of words.

During a wrestling match, metal tacks are thrown into the ring and Zak is thrown heavily onto them.

Already isolated and missing her family, when making her debut in America, Paige struggles to deal with with the way she is put down with reference to her looks and for being British. When speaking about her, someone in the audience shouts, ‘Has anyone seen my boner?’

Due to his frustration and resentment when Zak fights with Paige in the ring he beats her badly, going away from the plan that was in place. He drops her on her head several times and a character angrily tells him that he could have broken her neck. Later, he deliberately starts a fight with a group of men.

A character calls another ‘Sex Tape’ because he makes people famous.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY’ FOR KIDS?

Possibly having more strong language than a lot of people are comfortable with, ‘Fighting With My Family’ nevertheless has so much more going for it than the cheap laughs it could boil down to. Due to the dialogue which is constant throughout, we feel this movie is inappropriate for kids under 12.

• Violence: 3/5 (mostly planned wrestling moves which usually look worse than they actually are. Some comedy violence which could potentially be imitable and fights started out of anger)
• Emotional Distress: 2/5 (both Zak and Paige struggle with their inner demons, their emotions boiling over to effect their loved ones)
• Fear Factor: 0/5
• Sexual Content: 2/5 (cursing referencing body parts)
• Bad Language: 5/5 (frequent moderate to strong insults and sexual slang)
• Dialogue: 3/5 (overblown threats)
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of family life, seizing a fantastic opportunity, confidence, depression, insecurity, earning your place, tenacity, success and failure, isolation, prejudice, acceptance and the human spirit.

Words by Laura Record