Fighting with My Family Blu-ray Review

THE MOVIE — 3.75/5

Plot Synopsis: Born into a tight-knit wrestling family, Saraya-Jade a.k.a. Paige (FLORENCE PUGH) and her brother Zak (JACK LOWDEN) are ecstatic when they get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try out for WWE. But when only Paige earns a spot in the competitive training program, she must leave her family and face this new, cut-throat world alone.

Review: I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan of wrestling, not that I have anything against the sport, just nothing I grew up watching and didn’t get into later in life. However, I do know of some of the celebrities such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena but solely because of their Hollywood successes. Although not quite the same, I also know of the central character, Paige mostly due to her voicing role in one of the Scooby-Doo/WWE team-up direct-to-video movies.

But despite knowing very little about the WWE and Paige herself, I found Fighting With My Family to be a highly entertaining bio-sports-drama. While this is no Rocky, it does feature some great performances headlined by the rising star Florence Pugh, who really has set the world on fire of late (and is set to co-star with Scarlett Johansson on Black Widow). Pugh seemed to embody the role quite well even when you see the two side by side, where the real Paige is a good 5-6” taller.

But beyond Pugh, the supporting cast were all wonderful from Lena Headey and Nick Frost portraying Paige’s larger-than-life parents, Jack Lowden as Paige’s struggling brother and even Vince Vaughn who himself is on a tear seemingly straying away from the fast-talking, sarcastic characters and more toward the dramatic (see Brawl on Cell Block 99; Vaughn is fantastic). Also should note Dwayne Johnson (who also produced) appears as himself and for good reason as he was indeed involved in Paige’s rise into the WWE.

Fighting with My Family was directed by Stephen Merchant (and also wrote the screenplay inspired by a 2012 Channel 4 documentary). This was a well done, if not also rather safe, sports-drama that probably put the WWE in the best light, although Paige and her family did at least feel real, particularly the strained relationship between Paige and Zak, and on that level the film really hits some genuine emotions.

In the end, this is well worth at least a rental even if you know nothing about wrestling, the WWE or Paige herself.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5

This release comes with a glossy slip cover. Inside is a Digital HD redemption code.

Audio Commentary – Writer/Director Stephen Merchant breaks down the filmmaking process and bringing a real life personality to the big screen. As solo commentaries go, this one wasn’t bad, Merchant kept up the energy and chat for most of the film’s duration. Would have been nice to have someone like Florence Pugh or even Paige herself join, but still an enjoyable listen.

Deleted & Extended Scenes (8:53) – Six scenes were either cut down or completely removed. Nothing of special note with these and likely were excised for pacing.

Gag Reel (2:42) filled with flubbed lines and giggle-fests.

A Family’s Passion: Making-of (8:53) takes us behind the scenes with footage and interviews with members of the cast and crew including Director Stephen Merchant, Florence Pugh, Dwayne Johnson, Paige, Paige’s parents, and more.

Learning the Moves (3:18) is a short featurette about the wrestling moves and how Pugh and others prepared.

VIDEO – 4.5/5

AUDIO – 4.5/5

OVERALL – 4.0/5

Fighting with My Family is a surprisingly well done biographic drama featuring a transformative performance from Florence Pugh aided by a great supporting cast including Nick Frost and Lena Headey as Paige’s brash but loveable parents. This Blu-ray release from Universal offers up good video/audio transfers to go along with an okay selection of bonus features.