Fighting With My Family has its heart in the right place

Dwayne Johnson knows a good wrestling story when he sees one and this knockabout story of a British underdog who makes it all the way to the top of the WWE makes the cut

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FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY

Three stars

Director  Stephen Merchant

Starring  Florence Pugh, Dwayne Johnson, Lena Headey

Rating M

Running time 109 minutes

 Verdict  This underdog story has a strong pedigree

Dwayne Johnson knows a good wrestling story when he sees one. The former WWE champ developed this underdog sports comedy with writer-director Stephen Merchant, co-creator of The Office, after stumbling across a 2012 documentary about its characters on British television.

Fighting With My Family is based on the true story of Saraya-Jade Bevis — ring name Paige — who at 21, became the youngest woman ever to win a Divas Championship title

For those who don’t follow the sport, we’ll hold back on the rest of her biographical details here. Suffice to say that the filmmakers wouldn’t have dared the ending, had it not been inspired by real events.

Jack Lowden and Florence Pugh in Fighting With My Family.

Born to a family of wrestling nuts, who run a down-at-heel competition in Norwich, England, Saraya is hooked, from the age of 13, when her father asks her to stand in for a last-minute no-show.

In the film version, she is played, with pierced, Gothic doggedness and some creative license, by Florence Pugh, an actress who revealed her own formidable strength in her 2016 breakthrough role as Lady Macbeth.

Nick Frost, is Saraya’s father, “Rowdy Ricky”.

Lena Headey, perhaps better known as Game Of Thrones’ Cersei Lannister, has no trouble persuading us of her character’s fearlessness as Saraya’s mother, Julia.

And Jack Lowden (Mary Queen Of Scots) helps to ground the story as Saraya’s brother, Zak “Zodiac” Knight, whose dreams are crushed when he is passed over by WWE trainer Hutch Morgan (Vince Vaughn) in favour of his younger sibling.

Florence Pugh and Jack Lowden (right) in fighting With My Family.

Left behind in Norwich, Zac falls into a state of deep depression, unable to summon enthusiasm even for his role as mentor to a bunch of at-risk teenagers.

Alone on the American training circuit, Saraya struggles with the unfamiliar fighting and performance styles.

Her look is also very different from that of her fellow competitors, many of whom are former models, all of whom are blonde.

When Saraya decides to throw in the towel, Zac flips, going dangerously off script in a small, exhibition fight.

Rowdy Ricky presages this bruising incident earlier in the film when he explains that while the outcome might be rigged, the fighting is real

Paige’s debut on the WWE’s main roster also packs a wallop.

Florence Pugh stars as Paige in Fighting With My Family.

Like the characters it celebrates, this knockabout British comedy is a little rough around the edges, but its heart is in the right place.

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Originally published as Fighting With My Family has its heart in the right place