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 Fighting with My Family 

Grade?
A 29%  29%  [ 2 ]
B 57%  57%  [ 4 ]
C 14%  14%  [ 1 ]
D 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
F 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 7

 Fighting with My Family 
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Post Fighting with My Family
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Fighting with My Family is a 2019 biographical sports comedy-drama based on the 2012 documentary The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family, depicting the WWE career of professional wrestler Paige. It stars Florence Pugh as Paige, along with Jack Lowden, Nick Frost, Lena Headey and Vince Vaughn, and is written and directed by Stephen Merchant. Dwayne Johnson executive produces and also appears in the film. It premiered at Sundance Film Festival on 28 January 2019, and was released on 14 February 2019 in the United States.


Thu Feb 14, 2019 6:29 pm
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Post Re: Fighting with My Family
In a broad way, I guess this project is reminiscent of United Passions, the intensely reviled, Tim Roth-led monument to FIFA funded by...FIFA.

Except this is wonderful. Director Stephen Merchant (who also has a small supporting role) very cannily tempers its archetypal inspirational-sports-drama architecture with the very specific aesthetic and humor of this colorful, volatile, self-promoting wrestling family from Norwich. I entered with zero investment in World Wrestling Entertainment, but the film drew me into its world of punishing athleticism and kitsch showmanship.

Florence Pugh has tremendous screen presence as wrestler Paige. Nick Frost and Lena Headey are well-cast and matched as her parents, a lovably flawed duo who simultaneously champion their daughter and live vicariously through her.

In the obligatory role of the tough-but-fair coach, Vince Vaughn is rather captivating, too, particularly in the poignant roadside scene. Only Dwayne Johnson is slightly out-of-place in his two lengthy scenes. He, of course, exhibits outsize shake-hands-and-kiss-babies charisma in his usual way, and I respect the fact he lent his considerable industry clout to this idiosyncratic film's production. Nevertheless, he feels airlifted in from another film, and there is air of egoism in how the film portrays him as subtly orchestrating the heroine's rise to stardom.
Spoiler: show
There is no way Paige did not know she would be performing at a major event until Johnson himself privately told her the night before, right? I will leave this question for any WWE historians in the house.

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Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:07 pm
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Post Re: Fighting with My Family
David wrote:
t
Spoiler: show
There is no way Paige did not know she would be performing at a major event until Johnson himself privately told her the night before, right? I will leave this question for any WWE historians in the house.

Spoiler: show
From what I've read online, the story is altered way too much. Before her WWE debut she was pretty much the backbone of NXT (WWE developmental system) everyone knew who she was and what she had accomplished. She had a HUGE ANOUNT of hype, he'll at the time she debited on RAW she was the NXT Women's Champion. Becoming the first and only woman to hold both titled at once.
But to your original question I remember that being the rumor at the time but she didn't know she was gonna win until moments before the show went on the air, lol.

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Sat Feb 23, 2019 1:12 pm
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Post Re: Fighting with My Family
Love your reviews David. Keep em coming.

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Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:33 pm
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Post Re: Fighting with My Family
This really surprised me. Great cast and heartfelt.


Sun Mar 03, 2019 1:39 am
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Post Re: Fighting with My Family
Yeah, agree with the others. This is really good. Entire cast is great but especially Pugh. Vaughn was surprising as well because he's in way more of it than you might think and he does a great job.

On another note, similar to The Wrestler, this has a little bit of the backyard wrestling flavor in it where the family is setting up another match and asking one of the wrestlers whether he would be comfortable taking a garbage can to the face and a bowling ball to the unmentionables. Then they proceed to do both. Wrestling, especially at a low level, is so freaking nuts.

Now I've gotta watch Outlaw King on Netflix as Pugh is in that. She's terrific.


Sun Mar 03, 2019 1:56 am
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Post Re: Fighting with My Family
I enjoyed this a lot too. Was a little worried it would be just be promotion for the WWE, and they do glamourize the 'good ole days' of wrestling a lot (I don't think anyone younger than Cena was ever featured in those montages), but for the most part it is focused on the way it affects this particular family. It's just as much about what to do when you can't achieve your dream as it is Paige's success story.

Paige is the only one who uses her real name, so the main benefit to already being a fan is trying to figure out who everybody else is. I knew one of the model girls was meant to be Mandy Rose, but took a little to figure out the others were Carmella and Alexa. And, since fans know that Paige's wrestling career was cut short by injury, it was nice to use them in a way to let her legacy live on.


Wed Mar 06, 2019 1:31 pm
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Post Re: Fighting with My Family
A+
As a HUGE Paige fan, this was everything I wanted and more.
They altered the story a bit as Paige was already known and loved superstar before her debut. She got probably one of the biggest ovations of any female superstar ever

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Sat Mar 23, 2019 12:02 pm
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Post Re: Fighting with My Family
Yeah it completely ignores NXT Arrival. But that’s fine, the movie didn’t need to explain the details of how NXT changed from a developmental program to the type of show it is now. Then it would have had to explain why the women being treated respectfully was a big deal, which is not a good look for pre-2013 WWE.


Sat Mar 23, 2019 1:25 pm
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Post Re: Fighting with My Family
Generic sports movie where someone overcomes some odds. But this movie is about fucking wrestling which is all planned, so it loses all the usual urges to root for the central character, which here is Paige, a pretty unlikeable person from a pretty unlikeable family. It doesn't make sense that she is so surprised and elated that she won that fight when it's all planned anyway. But ok, it's from Steven Merchant so maybe it's funny? ... not too much actually. Dwayne Johnson cameos as himself, which was mostly shown in the trailers anyway. Nick Frost and Vince Vaughn make the occasional gag that will raise the cheek muscles but not much more. A disappointing film from someone I used to admire. It's becoming crystal clear that Ricky Gervais was the brains behind that duo.


Mon May 13, 2019 10:14 pm
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Post Re: Fighting with My Family
I enjoyed this a ton. Florence Pugh was great.

8/10 (B+)


Thu May 16, 2019 12:47 am
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Post Re: Fighting with My Family
It's an enjoyable enough film for sure, but nothing that memorable IMO. I think Nick Frost and Lena Heady were my favorite parts of this movie even though I get where Algren is coming from when says that her family wasn't portrayed as all that likeable, especially the brother. I am not a Paige fan, so I can't say whether or not how accurate with this was, but I did like the actress playing her and the scenes with Vaughn and Dwayne were fun even though The Rock isn't even in it that much.

B


Thu May 16, 2019 9:35 pm
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Post Re: Fighting with My Family
I quite loved this, not sure if this is just because I'm a sucker for sports films or Pugh's great screen presence, but it all just works really well. Its comedy is totally on point and the dramatic notions are nice. It does follow the pretty common sports formula, and the achievements don't really feel that grand, but it flourishes in the scale it presents itself. Headey and Frost are great in supporting roles, and carry a lot of the film with it too. Had a very good time with it.

B+


Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:21 am
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Post Re: Fighting with My Family
It’s fine and Pugh is excellent (and Vince Vaughn kills it), but something felt middling about it. I’m not sure they pulled off the mix of broke family barely staying out of crime plus comedy/big names in supporting roles/other movie-isms. It didn’t quite feel raw. The father is an alcoholic ex con but comes off like a teddy bear instead of someone with real demons, same for her mother with her past. Or for example they try to say the sex appeal wrestlers are more than just their looks by one of the having a kid, but you still kind of feel like the movie just treats them as bimbos and not really Paige’s equals as friends or wrestlers. As a result it feels slightly hollow when she rises to the top cause it makes it seem like women’s wrestling outside of Paige are just morons with big tits. A few more scenes could have made it more complex such as showing early Charlotte Flair type character training and Paige seeing someone who’s both a clearly more gifted wrestler than her while being a classically tall blonde with fake boobs, or the acknowledgement that that Paige's goth look is actually sex appeal to some wrestling fans and a unique look is the main reason they chose her over Zach, making her incorrect to believe they chose the other girls for more shallow reasons than her

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Fri Jan 31, 2020 1:14 pm
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Post Re: Fighting with My Family
I loved this.

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Thu Feb 13, 2020 11:43 am
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Post Re: Fighting with My Family
Chippy wrote:
I loved this.


I put it as #1 in my ballot lol, I knew it had no shot but... This was REALLY fantastic. Florence was also my #1 for best actress for this

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Thu Feb 13, 2020 1:55 pm
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