Fighting with My Family (2019)

Director: Stephen Merchant
Stars: Florence Pugh, Jack Lowden, Vince Vaughn
Runtime: 108 minutes

Synopsis: A former wrestler and his family make a living performing at small venues around the country while his kids dream of joining World Wrestling Entertainment.

Performances: 7/10
Screenplay: 6/10
Costumes/Makeup: 7/10
Editing: 5/10
Cinematography: 5/10
Score/Soundtrack: 4/10

Verdict: Directed by Stephen Merchant and produced by none other than Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, "Fighting with My Family" tells the true story of Saraya Knight, an ambitious wrestler who started her career in a modest family-owned ring in Norwich, only to become today the WWE superstar known as Paige.

I found the film to be a surprisingly charming one. Held together by mostly great performances, especially by lead Florence Pugh and Vince Vaughn (whose role is similar to the one he had in "Hacksaw Ridge"), it does a great job at depicting Paige's road to stardom and the physical and mental obstacles she had to face in order to become the icon she is today. That journey was told through a seemingly weird comedic approach that didn't entirely work for me the entire time, but that ultimately resulted in making the movie lighter and funnier than your typical sports biopic. Everything related to wrestling as a sport was also handled with great care, whether it was the choreography or showmanship.

However, there is no denying that "Fighting with My Family" was also heavily flawed. I sadly can't say that the film's technical execution was anything special, and even at times brought Merchant's second project as a director down with its inorganic transitions and cheesy soundtrack. The soundtrack wasn't the only cheesy aspect of it as the script also suffered from more than just a few tacky moments I didn't entirely get behind.
But despite these issues, I can't say that I didn't enjoy watching this underdog story about a wrestler I've always admired. Fans of Paige or wrestling in general will definitely get their money's worth, as will people searching for a light comedy to watch with their friends or families. 

FINAL GRADE: 6/10