I don’t really care for wrestling but enjoyed this movie. It’s a good underdog story. Florence Pugh is great, she really carries the movie well. The Rock has some fun cameos. The wrestling matches are shot well and entertaining, especially the final one.
this one really surprised me. didnt expect anything at all and during the first part of this movie i thought its kinda boring but it just builds up slowly and ends with a firework. i was excited, i cried and laughed and i got happy to bed. this one is really nice and florence pugh. she is just great!
Aside from some of the absolutely dismal acting, this was an enjoyable movie from start to finish. I struggle to fathom how wrestling has the following it does, because it’s just. So. Bloody. Awful. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be a dream, and it was nice to see Paige make it.
It was an incredibly crude and silly movie, but I liked it. Will I watch it again? Probably not. Do I feel like I just wasted the last few hours of my life? Not at all.
Worth a watch.
I’m not big on wrestling, never been interested really but this film tells a great story that’s infact based on a true story that makes it even better and it’s got a good sense of humour to it..
I’ve only seen 4 films from Florence pugh, last one being midsummer and i think she’s a decent actor and does great in her paige role..
1 / 2 directing & technical aspect
1 / 1 story
1 / 1 act I
1 / 1 act II
1 / 1 act III
1 / 1 acting
.5 / 1 writing
0 / 1 originality
0 / 1 stays with you
-1.5 / 1 misc (corny + total wwe propaganda)
5 out of 10
This movie portrays WWE as the holy grail of success. The best thing that can possibly happen in life. Funny that they didn't include the part where some chick sat on her neck and broke it during a match. WWE has no employees, only independent contractors. That means no health insurance. And they have a history of discarding injured stars. What a feel-good story!
Also, wtf Merchant?
.....Paige Here! Morbid curiosity is the tagline for this film.
9/10
Surprisingly good movie. Loved watching this movie for the second time. The story is good, Florence Pugh is excellent, the humor is perfect. A sports movie that combines, humor, sadness and a great real story.
this is what people mean when they say they want a goth girlfriend
This is terrible. I'm not even going to explain why, it's that bad.
I added this film to my backlog on a whim, having seen that it had earned positive reviews. Truth be told, that was the only reason I gave it a shot. I have never seen a WWE match, nor do I have any positive feelings related to that media. Seeing that this was a family comedy with the Rock didn't give me much hope either. But hey, it pays off to try something new every once in a while, and this was certainly worth the watch!
"Fighting With My Family" follows the true story of English professional wrestler Paige, with liberties taken there of course. I will actually use point this as one of my criticisms of the film. Practically no time is devoted to Paige's growth as a professional wrestler, the film only focuses on her overcoming her insecurities and all of a sudden becoming a WWE champion. I had to look it up, and sure enough, they rushed through what was her actual career growth. It's quite noticeable in the film itself, which is why I am mentioning it. Otherwise, as an outsider to this sphere, I had few issues with it. The actual wrestling was even more exaggerated than the real thing, but it was entertaining to watch.
What really sells the movie is its comedy and the family themes. I don't think anyone would expect a WWE film to be a candidate for high-brow comedy, but that doesn't mean the jokes here aren't funny. A lot of them work thanks to great comedic timing and performances. It's vulgar, and succeeds at it. One also has to appreciate the film's heart, as you really feel the connection between Paige and her family. Zak, her brother, brought some much needed contrast to her character and added a more realistic complexity to the story. As such, the actual wrestling serves more as a backdrop for these characters to interact.
Vince Vaughn takes on the completely fictional role of Hutch Morgan, a recruiter and coach that serves to drive the plot and Paige's development further. His role took on that classic trope of a hateable character with a golden heart. I can't lie, it worked. There's plenty of cliches in the film, but they work well in the context, and that's what really matters in the end.
All in all, I found "Fighting With My Family" to be pretty fun. It's in no way mind-blowing, but it's a solid piece of entertainment that I can recommend to anyone who just wants to enjoy a funny rags-to-riches story.
Fighting with My Family is often corny and cliched, but rises up to be more than that with a competent script and amazing performances by its cast. Pugh steals the show, literally.
I absolutely love films about unknown to me true stories and this was no exception. it was a comedic look into the life of Paige, a WWE wrestler who rose to prominence in the community at just 18 years old. it was funny, emotional and all round a good family film.
It was nice to see Lena Headey here aswell, I didn't realize she was in this film but I was glad when I saw that she was. I absolutely love her style of acting and she did not disappoint here.
This one really surprised me. Was expecting something on par with what WWE produce in general, garbage shows for children, but it was so much more.
I was not expecting to like this movie. And yet, I did. I was unaware that this was based on a true story/real people. I especially liked the acting of both Pugh and Lowden. It was a pleasant heartwarming story.
They are calling this a comedy but I think it is just a great drama whose comedy lies in odd situations rather than in one liners (although, I did laugh out loud a couple of times). This has been on my Watch Next list for awhile, first because of Dwayne Johnson (who, really, just lends his name to the film), then because of the awesome Lena Headley, but, it made its way to the top of the list because I didn't know of Florence Pugh until yesterday, when I saw her notable performance in LITTLE WOMEN. This story has heart and you'll find yourself holding your breath for the underdog especially knowing these are avatars for real people. For these reasons, plus Florence Pugh's great performance, a fresh story that is gives more than it promises (and because I really enjoyed it) I rate this film an 8 (great) out of 10. [Comedy/Drama]
Great film. Good portrayal too of the Knight Family! The ‘rock’ ROCKED as usual!
I thought the wrestiing aspect would pummel me to the ground with its pantomime theatrics, but thankfully, the film kept my interest thanks to the human story beneath the spandex.
I didn’t expect to like this one that much. Not a big wrestling fan but the story and themes took me by surprise.
I still don’t understand how this movie is categorized as a comedy. Okay, some moments are funny but definitely more drama than comedy.
The Rock appeared just enough. Could have been too much.
Stephen Marchant longtime collaborator with one Mr. Ricky Gervais has also carved a nice niche for himself in solo projects on TV and film. Here he tries his hand at feature-film directing and writing and it has to be said he appears to have learned a great deal from his years in the business and applied it.
He has crafted a film, that on paper would only appeal to dedicated fans to pro-wrestling, but skilfully and artfully made it a film about something else whilst not losing the focus on the wrestling. With a great cast, I even enjoyed the much-maligned Vince Vaughn who for some reason has become a bit of hate-figure recently, he is ably assisted in this funny and entertaining story of love, family, pursuing your dreams and redemption.
No doubt Mr. Merchant was helped no end by the quite fantastic Florence Pugh and Jack Lowden who are wholly believable as brother and sister. Throw into the mix Nick Frost playing a part of a real person who was seemingly made for him to play and Leana Headly throwing off her Cersei mantel with some ease as the determined family lynch-pin Julia and frankly, even with a poor script and story, you would still get something watchable. With a great script and mostly true story you are onto a winner. Fighting With My Family is undoubtedly a winner.
Bringing in all of this under two hours and you have a fun, interesting and entertaining film. Through in 'The Rock' with his charisma and worldwide recognition and you are going to the championship belt with some ease.
If the film lags or loses momentum anywhere it is that part were you can almost see the fingerprints of the WWE, throughout the film is made clear the Saraya/Paige and her family run scripted wrestling events, yes I know people get genuinely hurt in these and they are difficult and athletic but they are scripted and staged, once we get into the world of the WWE, the apex of the families dreams, there is the implication that the bouts are spontaneous. This is nonsense there has been a court case where it has to be admitted, it does not harm the product and it is still as fun. It's a shame this part could not be as adult as the rest of the film.
Fighting With My Family is a good old underdog fights their way to the top, learns a lot about their family and life in the process and wins against all odds as an added bonus it is 90% a true story.
In all honesty just over 90 minutes with Saraya and her family is as pleasant a way to spend some spare time you have.
Really enjoyed this one even if i don't know anything about wrestling..It was emotional with great directing,nice humor and Florence's perfomance was something else..Check this out 7.6/10
"Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson went on to a successful career outside of wrestling" LOOOOOOL
I loved all the little videos during the end credits of the real life Knights! And how the suicide/prison story and the whole thing with the blind kid were actually true!
I know absolutely nothing about wrestling, and don't really find it all that interesting or entertaining, but this movie was amazing! And the lead actress was brilliant. Also, it was such a treat and nice surprise to see Lena as character other than Cersei. I just love her!
Superb film, one of the best of 2019. I saw the documentry years ago and this surpasses that by far. The Rock is great in it as well, its very funny.
Though it’s touching and well made. They do just make NXT look like a training camp and that’s it. Paige being NXT champ was cut out. As well as her NXT wrestling career.
The movie is entertaining as hell though and well acted enough that I can forgive it for that though.
I know I'm the only person that saw this without knowing it was the real story of Paige. Until the end. I saw it because Steve Merchant wrote the script...and it was funny, but not as funny as I expected with Merchant involved. Having said that, I'm not sure I buy the WWE is the source of all dreams and insta-millionaire feel of parts of it, but it was an entertaining little thing. 6/10
Not sure what movie these other folks saw. The movie was ok at best. The worst thing is her real story is more interesting then this dribble.
Who dosen't love an underdog story? "Fighting with My Family" nails about everything that you could expect from a movie like this. The action/choreography is top notch, great charcter progression, it's extremely funny, and also really hits you in the feels.
Even if your not a wrestling fan this movie is very likeable. Based on a true story how a wrestling family in England had one of their own become the WWE Diva Champion. Gritty and realistic I liked this film. Cameos by actual WWE stars. A good watch.
critics love these kinds of movies, 91% for a movie that felt like you've seen before many times.
The movie feels sloppy at times, but Florence Pugh really makes it work.
Review by Paladin5150BlockedParent2019-07-04T01:19:51Z— updated 2019-08-29T00:23:57Z
Even though this film has Nick Frost, Lena Headly, and yes, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, I wasn't expecting much more than a bit of amusing viewing to while away an evening. Well, "Frack me dead and bury me pregnant", as the females in the Knight family are prone to exclaim, if this didn't turn out to be a hidden gem of a movie. (shoulda' known with the caliber of the actors) Florence Pugh does a fantastic job as the future, real life, WWE Diva "Paige", who gets her shot to go from a D League family wrestling hustle, to the big time, thanks to having actual skills rather than just "boobs and a nice butt" to shake at the male fans. The thing that makes it all the more amazing, is, the whole thing is true. I didn't think a wrestling movie would cause me to reach for the Kleenex, but yeah, the story is that inspiring, and may just get you in the feels too.
Some heart rending moments as her brother, who tried out with her, but didn't have "it" struggles with what one is to do when your dream has been absconded with by someone you're close to, even if deep inside you know they did nothing wrong. Hilarious "Meet the family" moment as Zak introduces his pregnant girlfriends parents to his tribe, and to pro(ish) wrestling, British style.
There's even some sage advice from Vince Vaughn, and The Rock, as he tells the eventual WWE Diva "Don't try to be the next ME, be the first YOU! Yeah baby, I can totally SMELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL, what this movies cookin'!