It’s possible this wasn’t a “perfectly good” story to begin with. So when I make the claim: “You took a perfectly good story and Hollywood-ized the fun out of it,” I’m probably speaking from an exaggerated sense of frustration. But lemme tell ya, Fighting with My Family had a Fighting with My Family chance to get it right and formulaic-ally destroyed it. This wrestling film left me wrestling with notions of what constitutes a reasonable heroine because I sure didn’t see it here.
The Knight family (Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Florence Pugh, and Jack Lowden) are rasslin’ fools. They stage their own “professional” “fights” out of their family “gym” where they earn up to a shiny head of cabbage every week teaching the underprivileged youth of Norwich, England how to stage fake wrestling stuff like they see on TV. Mohawked dad (Frost) and sleazy rock video trash mom (Headey) pace the quartet as promoters, performers, and technicians in their family venue. Some families ski; some families hike; some families play basketball. The Knight family plays professional wrestling. It would be funny if it weren’t tragic.
There is no money in local professional wrestling, of course, and these are excellent ways to get really, really hurt. Who needs a skateboard and GoPro when mom will cripple you for free? Naturally, the kids Saraya and Zak aspire to become professional wrestlers. Has no one yet clued Zak in that he needs to be about 6 inches taller and 80 pounds heavier? I’m sure a lean 6-footer with good technique can handle the local bruisers, but have you seen the size of Hulk Hogan? Oh, and both of you might want to develop an alter-ego. Wrestling fans are like Trump fans; they want to see big talk, bluster, and boastfulness much more than they want evidence of a demonstrable skill set.
Well, guess what? The Rock (as The Rock) and Vince Vaughn (as a WWE promoter/manager/trainer) come to London lookin’ for talent. Zak (Lowden) and Saraya (Pugh) put on a show that will thrill only the people impressed with the wrestling on the Netflix comedrama “GLOW” and pretty much nobody else. Saraya is selected; Zak is not. And from here on in is where the film lost me. Fighting with My Family wasn’t exactly Citizen Kane up to this point; this is just a small town fam into wrestling playing for pennies and a few laughs, like when a wrestler is asked whether he’ll take a bowling ball to the nads for the sake of entertainment (“ok, let’s try it out”). Until the tryout, however, this film was at least colorful and honest.
Professional wrestling isn’t real. It’s not exactly fake; these are precision athletes/actors; I could no more be a professional wrestler than I could work the pommel horse at the Olympics. Gymnastics is a good parallel because the gymnast is a similar type of athlete to pro wrestler — the dedicated precision performer, not the warrior. The outcome of professional wrestling matches is as predetermined as the outcome of Inspector Javert in Les Misérables. And in an effort to make this film into Rocky, Fighting with My Family had to sell us on a number of scores that ring hollow. Saraya gets to the wrestling bus leagues if you will, and she sucks – never mind that Florence Pugh is too small to be a pro rassler; she just isn’t as good or as polished as her peers. It’s incredibly frustrating seeing “Paige” stammer at the camera, get shown up by her co-workers, and then see her get a shot at the title as a reward. It’s like watching somebody go from JV college gymnast to getting a shot at a gold medal without even the benefit of “I’m suddenly better than everybody” montage. (This montage does exist, but it shows merely that “Paige” is now fitting in; there’s nothing among the too-little-too-late suggesting “Paige” is the one deserving of a promotion to the bigs ahead of her peers.)
And the worst part of all of this is that Zak is the one who really wants a chance at the WWE. To enhance the drama of the picture, Saraya constantly waffles about the opportunity she’s been given. When Fighting with My Family loses the Rocky portion and goes with the small town blues, it’s a better picture. There is heart in Zak’s role as wrestling coach that is missing in Saraya’s pursuit as wrestling professional. Teaching a blind kid how to leap off the third rope and pin a guy … that’s good movie. Teaching a goth wannabe how to trash talk a live audience and then watching her stare blankly when she gets her chance is not. In an effort to present the classic underdog tale, Fighting with My Family created a situation we neither believe nor were terribly invested in. You Hollywood-ized the fun out of this film, fellas.
The Knights are prepared for a rumble
When talking Nelsons, these guys are not humble
But with nary a peep
Sis got in too deep
Hey y’all, LET’S GET READY TO STUMBLE!!
Rated PG-13, 108 Minutes
Director: Stephen Merchant
Writer: Stephen Merchant
Genre: Taking your hobby to the next level
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Wrestlemaniacs
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Fans of non-formulaic storytelling
