Fighting With My Family

I know absolutely nothing about the WWE except for the fact that Hulk Hogan and The Rock started there.  I have never been a fan, don’t ever watch it; and yet, I love this heart warming little movie.  It is a mainly true story about an English family who all wrestle.  Patriarch Patrick Knight spent time in prison and his wife Julia was  a homeless oddball, but they found each other – and wrestling.  The whole family participates in a low-level traveling wrestling show, as well as conducting wrestling lessons for local kids..  But the Knights have hopes that one of their children will someday make it into the WWE.  Daughter Saraya Knight  looks like Wednesday Adams, and while she has skill and grit, lacks the confidence and inner strength she really needs. Her brother Zack “Zodiac” has potential with physical presence.  Great performances by Nick Frost and Lena Headey make the oddball Knight family almost endearling.  The scenes of various family members wrestling were entertaining, especially a very brave blind boy who wants to be famous.  Jack Lowden and Florence Pugh are fine as the two sibling wrestlers: one whose dream comes true  as WWE superstar Paige and the other who has to deal with disappointment.  They get an invite to try out for a chance to appear in the WWE. Only one gets to go on, and to face a unique set of challenges to overcome.  Dwayne Johnson makes a funny cameo as himself (a real life friend of Paige).  Stephen Merchant and Vince Vaugh are also successfully  featured, Vaughn as the hard nosed ‘coach’ who is tasked with preparing all the candidates for the one chance to perform.  “Fighting With My Family” is the kind of movie only the English could make; sweet, quirky, and endearing.    Apparently the real life of WWE star Paige could not be portrayed accuratley in a family-friendly movie, so it is probably just as well that the movie concentrates on her life and her family’s life before she became famous.  The story will remind you of “Rocky” at times, and that is not a bad thing!