Story
Fighting with My Family is a biopic based on the true story of WWE wrestler Paige, who went from a gritty childhood in Norwich, England, to become the youngest woman to win the WWE women’s title.
In Norwich, England, the Knights are a family of avid wannabe wrestlers and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) fans. They’ve fought their way through poverty, crime and hardship to live a normal life. After countless audition tapes, brother and sister duo Saraya (Florence Pugh) and Zak (Jack Lowden), are given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try out for the WWE. When only Saraya makes it through the first round of try-outs, she must decide whether pursuing her wrestling dreams is worth risking her relationship with Zak.
As pale, black-clad Saraya takes the plunge into the ultra-competitive WWE training program under her new wrestling name Paige, she finds herself wondering whether she has what it takes to be a WWE star, when all those around her are models and dancers. Ultimately, Paige discovers that the things that set her apart from her polished competitors might be the very things that can help her succeed.
Themes
Family; drug and alcohol use/dependence; crime; poverty
Violence
Fighting with My Family has some violence. For example:
- WWE-style wrestling features throughout.
- One man is hit in the face with a garbage can lid during wrestling practice. Another man is hit in the groin with a bowling ball during wrestling practice. This is for comic effect.
- People talk about violent crimes.
- A character is slammed onto thumbtacks during a wrestling match.
- Zak and Paige wrestle. Zak becomes aggressive and genuinely hurts Paige.
- Zak starts a fight in a pub. The fight involves punching, throwing billiard balls, and threatening people with a billiard cue.
Sexual references
Fighting with My Family has some sexual references. For example:
- There are references to pornography.
- A husband and wife kiss passionately.
- There are crude references to getting someone pregnant.
- There’s a reference to women becoming strippers.
- A character gets an erection during wrestling practice. This isn’t shown.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Fighting with My Family shows some use of substances. For example:
- There are references to cocaine, crack and heroin use.
- Characters deal drugs
- People drink in pubs.
- There are references to alcoholism.
- People smoke cigarettes.
Nudity and sexual activity
Fighting with My Family has some nudity and sexual activity. For example, both women and men involved in wrestling wear little clothing or revealing clothing.
Product placement
The following brands and products are displayed or used in Fighting with My Family:
- WWE
- Under Armour
- HP
- Vitamin Water
- Apple and Samsung
- Lonsdale
- Bud Light beer
- LG TV.
Coarse language
Fighting with My Family has some coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Written and directed by comedian Stephen Merchant, Fighting with My Family is a fairly standard sports biopic that relies on a conventional narrative arc to reach its conclusion. But Jack Lowden’s performance as Zak makes the movie an enjoyable experience.
Viewers aged 13 years and above will probably enjoy Fighting with My Family. But we recommend parental guidance for children under 13 because of the movie’s violence, distressing themes, language and substance use.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include the following:
- Don’t judge others until you get to know them. Everyone has their own journey with unique hardships and battles.
- It’s better to work together to get through difficult times than to try to do it alone.
- Be grateful for the positive things in life, especially when things aren’t going your way.
Fighting with My Family could give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like:
- use of alcohol and other drugs
- drug dealing
- the physical risks of copying wrestling moves without knowing how to do them.