"Fighting With My Family" review

How many movies can you watch where a group of misfit Wrestling wannabes teach a blind kid how to wrestle?

Dramatizing the rise to fame of WWE star Paige, one of the most influential female competitors of modern Professional Wrestling, “Fighting with My Family” successfully turns the sports movie formula on its head by focusing on one of the more unique industries of performance art that our culture has ever created.

Playing up its appeal as the story behind WWE star, one of the wonkiest aspects of "Fighting with My Family" that non wrestling fans will have to contend with is the nature of wrestling's portrayal in the movie.

The art form is definitely respected, going out of its way to define the difference between fake and fixed but lacks certain key points of elaboration, such as what determines the script for the match that would have gone further to better detail the nature of professional wrestling for the uninitiated.

While the fast and loose feel of the sport doesn't go unnoticed, I hesitate to call the flaw persistent because where "Fighting with My Family" works is its family dynamic and that transcends the more opaque areas of Wrestling portrayed by the film.

The Bevis family are an exaggerated, unruly, and occasionally slightly toxic bunch that almost seem too cartoony to be real (rest assured they are very real as the credits of the movie are happy to show). Nevertheless, they share a camaraderie and jovial good hearted nature that makes them consistently endearing and a love for one another that makes their misfit antics downright infectious.

All of this is brought together by Stephen Merchant’s solid screenplay and direction which forgoes technical flashiness in favor of getting the most out of his talented cast of actors, including the always reliable Nick Frost and Lena Headey, reliable character actor Jack Lowden, and break out star Florence Pugh, who has to carry a lot of subtle notes on a journey of self reflection and self realization that not only serve as the heart of the film but  suggest she may be an actress with a career worth paying attention to.

“Fighting with My Family” won’t exactly dethrone the best sports dramas of all time but it’s loaded with so much humor, heart, and unique flair that it’s nigh impossible to walk away from without having a smile on your face at least once.

7 Championship Belts out of 10