MOVIE REVIEW: Fighting WIth My Family
(Blue Guitar - Justin Hayward)
When it comes to professional wrestling, it's typically a love-it or don't-care-about-it type of thing. Indeed, not many really go out of their way to hate a sport that a lot of people consider to be fake. As more and more pro wrestlers begin to break out of the ring and onto mainstream television and movies, however, wrestling stories are finally beginning to get the visibility that many will argue is long overdue.
'Fighting With My Family' tells the story of an entire family that is absolutely obsessed with wrestling, even performing themselves on amateur stages. The story may be compelling to wrestling fans, but what about everyone else?
Can a wrestler's story appeal to someone who isn't a fan?
THE SHORT VERSION:
Yep. This is a fantastic movie.
THE LONG VERSION:
I freely admit that I don't know much about wrestling, and that what I do know is the result of a very pleasant friendship with a man named Justin, who insists on spelling his name with a 'V' in place of the 'U', for reasons that only Latin nerds will appreciate. Justin was a -rabid- fan of wrestling, going so far as to perform himself, and was an amazing ambassador for the sport. Justin took the time to explain the intricacies of wrestling to me, and quickly disillusioned me about my preconception that it was just a bunch of guys dancing around in speedos.
For those that didn't have a Justin -- excuse me, Jvstin -- as a wrestling sherpa, I will simply say that while the outcomes may be preordained, almost everything you see happening with the chairs and the tacks and the ladders and the brutal slams in the ring is bone-shakingly real. This is an important thing to realize before going in to watch this film, as it gives you a greater understanding of the commitment that it takes to wrestle for entertainment on even an amateur stage.
FWMF tells the story of the Knight family, a wrestling-loving family from Norwich, England. That's pronounced 'Norrich', by the way. The main focus of the film rests on the two youngest children, Zak and Saraya. Both of them have dreamed of making it into the WWE, and the story follows their pursuit of this, along with what that pursuit does to them, and to their friends and family. Now, I can hear the eyes rolling right now about this being 'a wrestling movie'. It's certainly a movie with wrestling in it, but as with all great stories, the movie isn't about the wrestling, but the people doing it and who they are.
The film would be lost on anyone who wasn't a wrestling fan if it weren't for a completely bullet-proof script from end to end. There is literally no part of this film that's not entertaining or emotional to watch. The dialogue is snappy and clever, and the humor is very real without slapping you in the face. I have friends and family members who talk to each other in the same way that the Knight family interfaces with one another, and it instantly makes the main characters of the film more relatable.
Scripting is frequently not enough if your actors can't pull it off, and in this regard, FWMF also absolutely crushes it. There are stand-out performances from almost every principal member of the cast, but I would be remiss if I didn't point out a few in particular:
- Florence Pugh -is- Paige. In spite of the fact that the cast of this film makes it to where she doesn't have to carry the whole thing herself, she clearly demonstrates that she could have if it were required of her.
- Nick Frost is someone that I typically go out of my way to avoid, not because I think he's a bad person, but because his comedy usually exemplifies everything that I hate about modern cinema. As with many comedians, his brilliance shines out when he's allowed to stop acting like a complete buffoon and play the 'Straight Man' in a film. The irony here is that Frost is arguably even more entertaining when the script allows him to tone it down. His comedy is razor-sharp, sly, genuine, and intelligent. And his beard in this movie is something that I'm officially jealous of, because DAMN.
- Ditto with Vince Vaughn. I loathe this man's career in film. Like Frost, the scripting allows him to tone it down a little and behave like a HUMAN for a change instead of a complete ass-hat. As a result, Vaughn's performance in this film should rightly be hailed as one of his best. When he's funny, he brings the signature dead-pan, rapid-fire patter that he's known for, but there's a line here, and the script doesn't ever force him to cross over into obnoxiousness. He's absolutely brilliant, and when his character is being allowed to be serious, he does so without drenching the scene in cliche and drama. I'm not sure who cast him in this role, but he nailed it.
Dwayne Johnson, Lena Heady, and Jack Lowden all turn in performances that serve to showcase their own talents without being garish, though Johnson is clearly cheating. The movie wisely chose to sprinkle him in only sparingly, which was perfect.
This movie is absolutely a riot. Even fans who don't know anything about wrestling will love the script and the extremely real interface that the Knight family has with itself, and if you don't shed a tear during the last five minutes of the movie, it's very possible that something is dead inside of you.
When it comes to professional wrestling, it's typically a love-it or don't-care-about-it type of thing. Indeed, not many really go out of their way to hate a sport that a lot of people consider to be fake. As more and more pro wrestlers begin to break out of the ring and onto mainstream television and movies, however, wrestling stories are finally beginning to get the visibility that many will argue is long overdue.
'Fighting With My Family' tells the story of an entire family that is absolutely obsessed with wrestling, even performing themselves on amateur stages. The story may be compelling to wrestling fans, but what about everyone else?
Can a wrestler's story appeal to someone who isn't a fan?
THE SHORT VERSION:
Yep. This is a fantastic movie.
THE LONG VERSION:
I freely admit that I don't know much about wrestling, and that what I do know is the result of a very pleasant friendship with a man named Justin, who insists on spelling his name with a 'V' in place of the 'U', for reasons that only Latin nerds will appreciate. Justin was a -rabid- fan of wrestling, going so far as to perform himself, and was an amazing ambassador for the sport. Justin took the time to explain the intricacies of wrestling to me, and quickly disillusioned me about my preconception that it was just a bunch of guys dancing around in speedos.
For those that didn't have a Justin -- excuse me, Jvstin -- as a wrestling sherpa, I will simply say that while the outcomes may be preordained, almost everything you see happening with the chairs and the tacks and the ladders and the brutal slams in the ring is bone-shakingly real. This is an important thing to realize before going in to watch this film, as it gives you a greater understanding of the commitment that it takes to wrestle for entertainment on even an amateur stage.
FWMF tells the story of the Knight family, a wrestling-loving family from Norwich, England. That's pronounced 'Norrich', by the way. The main focus of the film rests on the two youngest children, Zak and Saraya. Both of them have dreamed of making it into the WWE, and the story follows their pursuit of this, along with what that pursuit does to them, and to their friends and family. Now, I can hear the eyes rolling right now about this being 'a wrestling movie'. It's certainly a movie with wrestling in it, but as with all great stories, the movie isn't about the wrestling, but the people doing it and who they are.
The film would be lost on anyone who wasn't a wrestling fan if it weren't for a completely bullet-proof script from end to end. There is literally no part of this film that's not entertaining or emotional to watch. The dialogue is snappy and clever, and the humor is very real without slapping you in the face. I have friends and family members who talk to each other in the same way that the Knight family interfaces with one another, and it instantly makes the main characters of the film more relatable.
Scripting is frequently not enough if your actors can't pull it off, and in this regard, FWMF also absolutely crushes it. There are stand-out performances from almost every principal member of the cast, but I would be remiss if I didn't point out a few in particular:
- Florence Pugh -is- Paige. In spite of the fact that the cast of this film makes it to where she doesn't have to carry the whole thing herself, she clearly demonstrates that she could have if it were required of her.
- Nick Frost is someone that I typically go out of my way to avoid, not because I think he's a bad person, but because his comedy usually exemplifies everything that I hate about modern cinema. As with many comedians, his brilliance shines out when he's allowed to stop acting like a complete buffoon and play the 'Straight Man' in a film. The irony here is that Frost is arguably even more entertaining when the script allows him to tone it down. His comedy is razor-sharp, sly, genuine, and intelligent. And his beard in this movie is something that I'm officially jealous of, because DAMN.
- Ditto with Vince Vaughn. I loathe this man's career in film. Like Frost, the scripting allows him to tone it down a little and behave like a HUMAN for a change instead of a complete ass-hat. As a result, Vaughn's performance in this film should rightly be hailed as one of his best. When he's funny, he brings the signature dead-pan, rapid-fire patter that he's known for, but there's a line here, and the script doesn't ever force him to cross over into obnoxiousness. He's absolutely brilliant, and when his character is being allowed to be serious, he does so without drenching the scene in cliche and drama. I'm not sure who cast him in this role, but he nailed it.
Dwayne Johnson, Lena Heady, and Jack Lowden all turn in performances that serve to showcase their own talents without being garish, though Johnson is clearly cheating. The movie wisely chose to sprinkle him in only sparingly, which was perfect.
This movie is absolutely a riot. Even fans who don't know anything about wrestling will love the script and the extremely real interface that the Knight family has with itself, and if you don't shed a tear during the last five minutes of the movie, it's very possible that something is dead inside of you.
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