Fighting With My Family * * * *

        

Let's get it on!

         

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          This is the story of Paige, a female wrestler.  She was recruited by the WWE who are huge in America.  The E, rightly stands for Entertainment. This is Television Wrestling.
        Paige was born into a family of show wrestlers in Norwich England.  Her Dad was a wrestler, her brothers were wrestlers and her Mum was a wrestler.  So her fate was pretty well set.
       Together the family would put on wrestling shows at town halls in North England.   Her parents had always been on the wrong side of the law and it was starting their wrestling road show that put them back on the straight and narrow.
        By chance Dwayne Johnson from the WWE from America saw a video of the Knight family and invited Paige and her brother Zac to try out for the WWE.

        As exciting as being selected was, it came at a price.  Going to America would be her first time away from her home. She was only eighteen and she was also troubled because her brother had not passed the auditions.  In television wrestling looks and image are as important as ability. Zac only had ability whereas Paige was as pretty as a picture

        Paige had been wrestling since she was thirteen.  Unlike the recruited ex-models and "dancers" Paige knew the moves.  What she knew in wrestling moves though, she lacked in social skills and self confidence. Her family might have been wacky but they were loving and protective. In America she had feelings of inadequacy and terrible homesickness.
         In a way it becomes the "new girl at high school" type of drama as we watch Paige struggle to find her voice and position among the other female wrestlers.
         It walks a fine line but Fighting With My Family is not corny.  In fact it's genuinely moving.  You can't help but like Paige and feel for her as each setback hits her, until her moment of triumph as she becomes one of the top stars on WWE.   It's a grand finishing note.
         It's  written and directed by Stephen Merchant,  Ricky Gervais's writing partner. Florence Pugh who I last saw in Lady Macbeth does a remarkable likeness  of Paige
         After watching this delightful film, I was inspired to do a bit more research. It is a true story, as opposed to "based upon".   I also learnt the sad events that struck Paige since the film was made are no less dramatic than what we see in the film. I'll leave it to you to decide whether you want to look into that.  And I'll leave it to the producers to decide on Part II, though I'm sure it would be tempting.