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FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY

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FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY

* * * ½

(Based on true story of pro wrestling family)

I wouldn't go to a pro wrestling match if you paid me. After rap, it is my least favorite form of entertainment. And Joyce had no interest in seeing another "sports" movie that ended with the BIG MATCH. So off I went to see a movie about an actual British family that makes a living wrestling in the lower leagues and small crowds in England.

Nick Frost plays Patrick “Rowdy Ricky Knight” Bevis, the father of Zak and Saraya Bevis, local wrestlers who aspire to make it to the WWE. Saraya, under the ring name Brittani Knight, makes the tryouts and is sent to further training in Florida, leaving disappointed and envious Zak behind.

They change her name to Paige, create an image, and put her through a brutal training regimen, competing against more appealing wrestlers. She has trouble fitting in with the American female wrestlers.

Vince Vaughn is perfect as the driving coach who sees something in her but nearly drives her to quit.

You'll get a good inside look at the training and development of the wrestlers, who have to be both good athletes and good actors. As they are told by their coach, "Wrestling is not fake, it is fixed.”

Of course, it all comes down to the BIG MATCH.

So why did I like this movie so much?

It had wonderful characters. Florence Pugh is wonderful as Paige, showing her grit and her fears. Jack Lowden is equally good as her brother, who goes through a variety of emotions and moods, jealously realizing that he's not as good as his sister but still wanting her to succeed.

The movie opens and closes with some very funny scenes with Dwayne Johnson recreating his Rock days.

Stay for the credits and see the actual family, who look and talk very much like the actors playing them. Rated PG-13, with profanity.

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