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I never really watched wrestling growing up. The only time I watched wrestling was when my grandfather would come over to visit from Oregon for the weekend. He liked to watch a very specific kind of wrestling that was far different than the typical wrestling from The Rock and Stone-Cold Steve Austin that was popular when I was younger. The new WWE biopic Fighting With My Family is about retired professional wrestler, Paige, who grew up as Saraya-Jade Bevis. This showcases her rise to fame as well as her family dynamics and how her journey to the WWE affected her family. Paige was born into a tight-knit wrestling family and she and her brother often put on shows around their hometown of Norwich, United Kingdom. Paige and her brother Zak get a once in a lifetime opportunity to try out for the WWE, but only Paige gets the callback, leaving her brother behind in Norwich.
I wasn’t expecting much from Fighting With My Family since I am not huge on wrestling. Right off the bat I could tell there was a lot of passion going into the movie from director Stephen Merchant and actress Florence Pugh. This is the type of movie where you want to stand up and cheer for our main star. The film does a great job of presenting obstacles for Paige and watching her overcome them. A lot of those obstacles involve her tryout process in Florida where she must compete against other female wrestlers who are models. Many times, throughout the movie, Paige doesn’t believe that she has what it takes to be the next big WWE superstar. Her family and friends believe in her, but the fun in the movie is watching Paige go through this journey to become that superstar she is now.
Florence Pugh plays Paige perfectly and she even looks like her. Her dedication for the sport shined throughout the film and showed why she deserved to be the youngest Diva Champion in history. Of course, there were times where she doubted herself and wanted to quit wrestling altogether, but those scenes were handled beautifully by Pugh. She provided the right amount of emotion to make her scenes believable.
Dwayne Johnson appearing in the film as himself was funny, even if he was screaming at both Paige and Zach many times throughout the film. Vince Vaughn also stars in the film as Hutch the recruiter for WWE and his toughness pushes Paige further in her career. His role is very similar to his role in Hacksaw Ridge directed by Mel Gibson. He is very real when it comes to Paige and her brother’s talent at wrestling. It was interesting to see how people get into the WWE and why some people get cut.
One of my favorite things about this film how her tryouts in Florida affected her brother. Her mother and father were happy for her since they have been working on this for years, but her brother wanted a shot at the WWE and was upset over the fact that he didn’t make it. He kept on calling Hutch for a chance to redo his audition, but it wasn’t working out. It is rather sad to see two people who both love wrestling and are equal in talent, but only one is considered WWE material. The film had a realistic approach for the family dynamics, and I think a lot of people can relate to how Zak or Paige felt in the movie.
Fighting With My Family was a movie I wasn’t expecting to enjoy so much. It is filled with inspirational moments led by an outstanding cast. As someone who knew nothing about Paige, I found myself wanting to learn more about her career and possibly watch some wrestling, because it looks fun to watch! A lot of heart went into this movie and it is a film everyone needs to see!
The Kid Who Would Be King has a run time of 1 hour 48 minutes and is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual material, language throughout, some violence and drug content.
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