X
- 2019
- PG-13
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- 1 h 48 m
- 2019
- PG-13
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- 1 h 48 m
Summary Fighting with My Family is a heartwarming comedy based on the incredible true story of WWE Superstar Paige™. Born into a tight-knit wrestling family, Paige and her brother Zak are ecstatic when they get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try out for WWE. But when only Paige earns a spot in the competitive training program, she must le...
Directed By: Stephen Merchant
Written By: Stephen Merchant
- 2019
- PG-13
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- 1 h 48 m
- 2019
- PG-13
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- 1 h 48 m
Fighting with My Family
68
7.1
Where to Watch
Summary Fighting with My Family is a heartwarming comedy based on the incredible true story of WWE Superstar Paige™. Born into a tight-knit wrestling family, Paige and her brother Zak are ecstatic when they get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try out for WWE. But when only Paige earns a spot in the competitive training program, she must le...
Directed By: Stephen Merchant
Written By: Stephen Merchant
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 38 Critic Reviews
68
87% Positive
33 Reviews
33 Reviews
13% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 38 Critic Reviews
68
87% Positive
33 Reviews
33 Reviews
13% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Fighting With My Family works as a cheeky but never condescending story of one of those “chin-up” working-class British families so often featured in the movies, and of course primarily as the story of an undersized, overmatched outcast who is determined to succeed against all odds.
The film benefits from Pugh’s charismatic performance and writer-director Stephen Merchant’s cheery mixture of crowd-pleasing sentiment, wry laughs and genuine sweetness.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 134 User Ratings
7.1
74% Positive
99 Ratings
99 Ratings
22% Mixed
29 Ratings
29 Ratings
4% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 134 User Ratings
7.1
74% Positive
99 Ratings
99 Ratings
22% Mixed
29 Ratings
29 Ratings
4% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
Als wrestlingfan ein echt guter Film und hat auch echt Spaß gemacht den Film zu schauen, sehe zu empfehlen
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Refreshing and worth seeing.
Overall, “Fighting” works thanks to Merchant’s witty screenplay, Pugh’s transformative performance, Vaughn’s inspired off the cuff one-liners (likely improvised) and a cast that clearly respects the Bevis family story.
It may be a simple, old-fashioned, underdog-gets-their-day, feel-good story, but it sure as hell will leave you feeling good.
Yes, the jokes are mostly low-hanging fruit, and quite a few of them you’ve seen and heard in the trailers. But they’re still funny. And Merchant didn’t let the trailers give away the whole movie. Not by a long shot.
Comedy and irony are not allowed to encroach on the film’s upbeat message, and the drama doesn’t reach out beyond a wrestling fanbase.
This is based on the true story of a British family that loved to wrestle. They put on exhibition matches around the country, but the dream of the brother and sister was to become WWE champions in America. This starts as a rowdy comedy with enjoyable characters, but once the narrative goes stateside, it becomes an underdog fight drama. The narrative quickly falls into a predictable path and even though it's based on reality, the facts have been compressed, which makes it feel more like a hokey cinematic trope. Still, it's still a heartfelt little film about a loving family and the unlikely success of one of them. Yes, the Rock does have small part (and is a producer).
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Fight. Fight. Fight.
Fighting With My Family
Merchant is probably the most authentic filmmaker you would get. Only because, he is a consumer at first. He breathes his fanboy moments onto papers that makes each mundane moment cinematic. He makes things look easy, familiar but easy. All his learned and adapted methods, on how to communicate with the viewers, from film itself, gives you a satisfying Friday night out feeling. He is not bringing anything new on the table, but is also smart enough to know what the audience wants and delivers a safe adored content on screen.
Is he taking risks? Probably not. Should he? Definitely not, if this works just fine. All his projects has had the essence of his vocab. The command over the language of Stephen Merchant; the writer-director, is both quirky and heartwarming. He has been selling this ever-working product for ages and it still holds up for its excellent quality. He works on detailings of the moment. Swooping in on all the angles possible, in a situation, he makes sure his world is diplomatic.
He accounts in every angle of a sequence, every perspective of the character, he gives them enough space to justify their deeds. This real life based comedy-drama maps out the tremendous amount of variations or fluctuations, one goes through, when he or she goes "big shot" and fame hits right on the face. Jolting down that very note is where Merchant's target lies. After which the cast brings in their magic in the ring. This eerie mixture of cast is a delight to watch, from their chemistry to their synced body language, they are just simply convincing.
Florence Pugh playing the infamous Saraya Knight or more commonly known as "Paige" has done an excellent work on conjuring the both physical and emotional aspects of her characters. Lena Headey and Nick Frost are protective and fairly negligent parents that we all can easily resonate with. Jack Lowden cloaking on the most complex character is convincing and also a big dose of electric charge when alone in screen, the bar fight is brilliantly shot and performed. Dwayne Johnson has done a great comic cameo where he is set loose with confidence by Merchant and there are no regrets.
Shockingly, Vince Vaughn as the coach of Pugh has much more to give than we would have expected, presumably since he is never sharing the screen with anyone, he is all on his own, brooding and inspiring his past for a better future. As mentioned, all the physical sequences are shot with well choreographed and multiple angle cameras that makes it look more exhilarating and profound of what they call it "fixed but not a fake" fight. The textbook structure of the script never grows into the culprit, it is entertaining even when Merchant is pulling off a montage sequence of the training our protagonist goes through. Fighting With My Family is like a big dinner at Christmas evening, it has few laughs and tears and bickerings, and in the end, is just pure fun.
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C’est, paraît-il, inspiré d’une histoire vraie… et c’est sans doute ça qui fait le plus peur ! une famille de catcheurs de père en fils et de mère en fille : on se croirait dans les Tuche : Tuche pas à mon catch !
Volontiers vulgaire, ça ne fait pourtant pas rire le moins du monde ; ça désole et ça ennuie comme c’est pas permis : rien de plus affligeant que de tenter de regarder ça. D’ailleurs, on ne le regarde pas bien longtemps et même la télécommande ne le supporte pas : l’avance rapide fait des siennes, alors on appuie juste sur « stop ». Pour arrêter les dégâts.
C’est en effet aussi bidon que ce prétendu sport bidon et truqué… mais il paraît que c’est de la « mise en scène »… soigneusement bidonnée elle aussi. Bien débile, niaise et gravos à la fois, cette sous-comédie finit dans les cordes. Et au fond des chiottes.
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Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),
Channel 4 Television Corporation,
Film4,
Misher Films,
Seven Bucks Productions,
The Ink Factory,
WME Global,
WWE Studios
Release Date Feb 14, 2019
Duration 1 h 48 m
Rating PG-13
Tagline Based on the Incredible True Story.
Awards
Columbus Film Critics Association
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Women Film Critics Circle Awards
• 2 Nominations
Detroit Film Critics Society Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
