Fighting with My Family Movie Review

Fighting with My Family (2019)

Rent Fighting With My Family on Amazon Video
Written by: Stephen Merchant
Directed by: Stephen Merchant
Starring: Florence Pugh, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn, Nick Frost, Jack Lowden, Dwayne Johnson,
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
A dramatization of WWE star Paige's life. Paige and her family made a living performing at small venues around the country while she and her brother dreamed of joining World Wrestling Entertainment.

Verdict
It's a typical underdog story with enough humor and changes to the typical formula to make it work, combining this with the idea that you must be yourself to succeed. What also bolsters the underlying theme of success, that we know will happen, is Paige's brother who didn't make the cut. This combines the heroic triumph with refocusing your dreams when you can't make it, and that really helps this movie.
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Review
I hadn't paid much attention to this movie, so I was surprised The Rock plays himself. With his inclusion on the movie poster, I thought he'd play a prominent role but he doesn't. He has two cameos.

This is a biopic, something I didn't realize initially. Paige, her brother Zak, and their parents are different. This is highlighted when they meet Zak's girlfriend's family. Paige's family is crass and rude, living for wrestling. Just don't tell them it's fake!

They wrestle locally in England while also training others. They barely can afford it, but Zak and Paige hope to make it big. They audition for the WWE under the watchful eye of a trainer played by Vince Vaughn. It's a role nearly made for him, letting him use his caustic style of humor.

Paige makes the cut, but Zak doesn't. That creates a rift between them and makes it hard on Paige who doesn't fit in and is cut off from her family that helps support her when she travels to Florida for training. The movie quickly draws a line between her and the other females trying out.
I'd imagine there aren't many female wrestlers with Paige's skill set. In the tryouts shes' the only one that has wrestled before. The others are dancers and models. She also has a much darker persona, that's nowhere near as feminine.

This piles on as Paige is having to teach the women too. The movie gives her a lot of grief, and most of it seems to be for effect. It could also be the training weeding out people, but that isn't really illustrated. When Paige first interacts with a crowd she freezes. She decides to copy others to fit in and win the crowd. While the movie has an underlying theme of being yourself, having Paige go girly girl is just a bit much.

I like that the movie blamed Paige for being an outcast. She didn't get along with the other tryouts because she didn't put in the effort. Zak realizing his dream is over brings Paige to a decision point. What will she do to succeed?

It's hard for this type of movie to avoid tropes. The trope is why this movie exists. This does enough to be entertaining despite the tropes. The writer has to be aware of them, using them for an advantage or subverting them when necessary. Paige achieves her dreams while her brother Zak also finds happiness.