''Fighting with My Family'' is a 2019

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curric ...

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film written and directed by

Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, writer, director, and actor. He was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003), and co-writer ...

. Based on the 2012 documentary ''The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family'' by Max Fisher, it depicts the career of English

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

Paige as she makes her way to

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

, while also following her brother Zak Zodiac, as he struggles with his failure to achieve similar success.

Florence Pugh Florence Pugh ( ; born 3 January 1996) is an English actress. Her accolades include a British Independent Film Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and three BAFTA Awards. After making her acting debut in the drama film ' ...

and Jack Lowden star as Paige and Zodiac respectively, alongside

Lena Headey Lena Kathren Headey ( ; born 3 October 1973) is an English actress. She gained international recognition and acclaim for her portrayal of Cersei Lannister on the HBO fantasy drama series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which she received ...

Nick Frost Nicholas John Frost (born 28 March 1972) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He has appeared in the '' Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy of films, consisting of '' Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), ''Hot Fuzz'' (2007), and '' The World's ...

Vince Vaughn Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. He is known for starring as a leading man in numerous comedy films during the late 1990s and 2000s. He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award ...

, and

Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional w ...

, with the latter also acting as producer. The film premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

on 28 January 2019 and was theatrically released in the United States on 14 February 2019. It received positive reviews from critics, particularly for Merchant's directing and the performances of Pugh and Vaughn. The film grossed $41.5 million worldwide.

Plot

Wrestlers

Rick Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

and Julia Knight raise their children, Saraya and Zak, to follow in their footsteps; as young adults, the siblings apply to join the

, and are evaluated by veteran trainer Hutch Morgan, who agrees to let them try out before a SmackDown taping at The

O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena, London * O2 Arena, Prague *The 3Arena, Dublin, formerly known as The O2 *The Uber Arena, Berlin, formerly known as O2 World *The Barclays Arena Barclays Arena (originally known as the Color Line Arena an ...

, where they meet WWE legend

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional w ...

. Shortly before her tryout, Saraya adopts the stage name "Paige", after her favorite character on the TV show ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadc ...

''. Morgan chooses Paige to train for the WWE, but not Zak, despite Paige's protests. Morgan forces Zak to return home after making it clear he will never be signed to the WWE, leaving Paige with no one to stick up for her. Arriving at NXT in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, Paige has difficulty with the training, especially given that her fellow trainees are mostly models and cheerleaders who have no wrestling experience and thus make poor training partners. Paige also struggles with performing choreographed promos as they clash with her own natural instincts, and suffers from Morgan's constant belittlement of her mistakes. During her WWE debut at an NXT live event, Paige is heckled by the crowd and freezes, leaving the ring in tears. She tries bleaching her dark hair and gets a spray tan in a desperate attempt to fit in with her peers. After failing an obstacle course, Paige lashes out at the other trainees for gossiping about her when they weren't. A sympathetic Morgan then reveals to Paige the real reason he didn't let Zak sign up: the league would have forced him to work as a jobber, which would have ruined his health. Morgan implies that a similar experience forced him to give up on his own wrestling career. Believing that professional wrestling isn't worth it and that she'd have a much happier life helping her parents train other wrestlers, Paige decides to quit the WWE and return to her hometown of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. She travels home for the Christmas break to inform her family of her decision. Angry that she is giving up on the dream that he failed to achieve, Zak attacks Paige during a wrestling match and then gets in a drunken bar fight. Paige changes her mind after Zak berates her for giving up, and she returns to Florida to rejoin the WWE. She reasserts her individuality by re-adopting her original hair colour and skin tone, rapidly improves in training, and befriends and encourages many of her fellow trainees. Morgan brings the trainees to

WrestleMania XXX WrestleMania XXX was a 2014 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was the 30th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 6, 2014, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. This ...

, where The Rock greets Paige and tells her she will make her Raw debut the following night against the current WWE Divas Champion,

AJ Lee April Jeanette Mendez (born March 19, 1987) is an American author, screenwriter and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE under the ring name AJ Lee. Mendez began her professional wrestling career in 2007 in New ...

. Paige makes her Raw debut, where she again freezes and takes a severe beating from Lee before finally turning the tables and beating the champion. Claiming Lee's title for herself, she proudly declares "this is MY house now!" as her family and friends cheer her victory back home.

Cast

as Saraya "Paige" Bevis, Zak's little sister and Patrick and Julia's daughter. Her stunts during wrestling scenes were performed by

Tessa Blanchard Tessa Blanchard (born July 26, 1995) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where she is a former Impact World Champion, and a former Impact Knockouts Champion. She previously performed for ...

. ** Tori Ellen Ross as young Paige *

as Julia "Sweet Saraya Knight" Hamer, Paige and Zak's mother and Patrick's wife. *

as Patrick "Rowdy Ricky Knight" Bevis, Paige and Zak's father and Julia's husband. * Jack Lowden as Zak "Zodiac Knight" Bevis, Paige's older brother and Patrick and Julia's son. *

as Hutch Morgan, a recruiter and coach for the WWE. *

as himself/The Rock *

James Burrows James Burrows (born December 30, 1940), sometimes known as Jim "Jimmy" Burrows, is an American television director. He has received numerous accolades including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards. He was honored ...

as Roy Knight, Patrick's son, Julia's stepson, and Zak and Paige's older half-brother. * Hannah Rae as Courtney, Zak's girlfriend and mother of his son, Caden. *

Thea Trinidad Thea Megan Trinidad Büdgen (born December 27, 1990) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Zelina Vega and is the current Women's United States Champion in her ...

as April Jeanette "AJ Lee" Mendez *

Kim Matula Kim Matula (born August 23, 1988) is an American actress. She made her television debut playing Tara Conner in the teen comedy film '' Queen Sized'' (2008) and later starred as Hope Logan in the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Bold and the Beautifu ...

as Jeri-Lynn * Aqueela Zoll as Kirsten * Ellie Gonsalves as Maddison * Elroy Powell as Union Jack * Jack Gouldbourne as Calum *

as Hugh, Courtney's father. *

Julia Davis Julia Davis (born August 1966) is an English actress, comedian, director and writer. She is known for writing and starring in the comedies Human Remains (TV series), ''Human Remains'' (2000) and ''Nighty Night'' (2004–2005). She later worke ...

as Daphne, Courtney's mother. Additionally,

wrestlers

Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...

Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on th ...

and

The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fame a ...

make appearances as themselves, while an uncredited actor played

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...

. Michael Cole,

Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "the King" Lawler, is an American retired color commentator and professional wrestler signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federati ...

, and

John "Bradshaw" Layfield John Charles Layfield (born November 29, 1966), better known by the ring name John "Bradshaw" Layfield, is an American professional wrestling color commentator, retired professional wrestler and former American football, football player. He is s ...

provide commentary on the Paige vs. AJ Lee match, while

Jim Ross James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator, sports announcer, and podcaster, better known by the ring name Jim Ross (often shortened to JR). He is signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he ...

provided commentary on The Rock's match. Several other WWE wrestlers (including Cena himself), as well as the real Knight family, appear in archival footage throughout the film while Zak Zodiac himself appears in a cameo as a gang lieutenant.

Production

On 7 February 2017, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' reported that

and

had teamed with

WWE Studios WWE Studios Inc. (formerly known as WWE Films) is an American film studio owned by the professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor (company), Endeavor Group Holdings. WWE Studios ...

and

Film4 Film4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, dedicated to broadcasting films. The standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesa ...

to produce a film based on the life of Saraya "Paige" Bevis, a professional wrestler with the

. Merchant would write and direct the film, while Johnson would cameo in the film and executive produce. In the days after the announcement, the main cast was revealed:

as Saraya, Jack Lowden as Saraya's brother Zak, and

and

as their parents.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American film and television production and distribution company headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. Metro ...

acquired the distribution rights on 10 February for US$17.5 million. On 14 February, Johnson announced that

had been cast, and filming would commence the following day. In-ring scenes were filmed after ''

WWE Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs Live television, live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show fe ...

'' on 20 February at the

Staples Center Crypto.com Arena (originally and colloquially known as Staples Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Los Angeles. Opened on October 17, 1999, as Staples Center, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along F ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Filming also took place around Bracknell, Berkshire, specifically the Harmans Water area, also in and around

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, with locations around the city used in the film, as well as the seaside town of

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

, and at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

. Scenes that depicted Paige training with NXT in Florida were shot in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

and

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

Historical accuracy

Like many biographical films, the film took several liberties with Paige's journey with WWE. The film had her start her WWE career performing for NXT when she actually first performed in

Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until ...

, Paige's time in NXT was kept minimal with no mention of her reign as

NXT Women's Champion The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT (WWE brand), NXT, th ...

, and several characters were fictional, including Hutch Morgan. Additionally, Paige had previously failed a WWE tryout before being successful in another. Johnson himself never met Paige (or any of the Bevis/Knight family) until seeing the original documentary in 2012, unlike the film's fictionalized portrayal of Johnson meeting Paige and Zak backstage at a WWE event in England; Johnson himself had just returned to WWE in 2011 after a seven-year absence when Paige signed with WWE in April 2011.

Release

''Fighting with My Family'' premiered at the

2019 Sundance Film Festival The 2019 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 24 to February 3, 2019. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 28, 2018. Films U.S. Dramatic Competition * '' Before You Know It'' by Hannah Pearl Utt * '' ...

on 28 January. It was released in the United States on 14 February 2019, in four theatres in Los Angeles and New York, and expanded to a wide release on 22 February 2019. It was released on 27 February 2019 in the United Kingdom. The movie was pre-sold internationally by sales representative Bloom.

Reception

Box office

''Fighting with My Family'' grossed worldwide against a production budget of . In its limited opening weekend, ''Fighting with My Family'' made $162,567 from four theaters over the four-day President's Day weekend. The film expanded to 2,711 theaters the following weekend and made $2.6 million on its first Friday wide, including $450,000 from Thursday night previews, and went on to gross $8 million for the weekend, finishing fourth at the box office. In its second weekend of wide release, the film made $4.7 million, dropping 40% and finishing seventh.

Critical response

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Much like the sport it celebrates, ''Fighting with My Family'' muscles past clichés with a potent blend of energy and committed acting that should leave audiences cheering." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

score of 68 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while those at

PostTrak PostTrak is a U.S.-based service that surveys film audiences for film studios. History The service conducts surveys in the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada with the use of polling cards and electronic kiosks. A PostTrak report for a fil ...

gave it an overall positive score of 83% and a 57% "definite recommend". Nick Allen of ''

RogerEbert.com ''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times ...

'' opined in a three-out-of-four star review: "Even though ''Fighting with My Family'' is undoubtedly about branding the WWE as a fantasy factory, its biggest strengths are its wit and surprisingly big heart."

References

External links

* {{Dwayne Johnson 2019 films 2010s American films 2010s British films 2010s sports comedy-drama films American coming-of-age comedy-drama films American films based on actual events American sports comedy-drama films British coming-of-age comedy-drama films British films based on actual events British sports comedy-drama films Cultural depictions of professional wrestlers 2010s English-language films Films about alcoholism Films about families Films directed by Stephen Merchant Films produced by Dwayne Johnson Films set in 2002 Films set in 2011 Films set in 2012 Films set in 2014 Films set in London Films set in New Orleans Films set in Norfolk Films set in Orlando, Florida Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Norfolk Films with screenplays by Stephen Merchant Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Film4 Productions films Seven Bucks Productions films Sports films based on actual events Women in WWE Women's professional wrestling films WWE Studios films English-language sports comedy-drama films