Une famille sur le ring

Siblings Saraya and Zac have been into wrestling for as long as they can remember. Born into a wrestling-mad family they now run a wrestling clinic for kids and take part in the regular wrestling shows and tournaments their parents produce. Their chance to hit the big time arrives when the WWE has auditions in the UK. Could this be their big break?

Thanks to the trailer, I had very low expectations for this. The trailer made the film look very silly and low brow. I wouldn't have watched if it wasn't for a friend pointing out that the film is nothing like the trailer and is far better than it seems.

Turns out they were right. Rather than lowest-common-denominator slapstick the plot is interesting and is complete with some great, clever humour and an engaging warmth. Moves at a good pace: the time just flies by.

All this aided by some solid performances. Florence Pugh is great as Saraya and she is ably supported by Nick Frost, Lena Headey and Jack Lowden as her family. Even Vince Vaughn, usually the kiss of death for any film or TV series, puts in a solid, engaging performance.

All this coming from someone who is not into WWE or wrestling at all.

On the negative side, it does end feeling like just another Rocky remake. Still, it was a funny and interesting journey getting there.

I watched this at home on BluRay from my public library. When it first came out the title threw me, I don't like seeing movies of families fighting. But I didn't understand, this is about a family where mom, dad, brother, and sister are all wrestlers.

It is based on the true story of a real British family. Florence Pugh (who I found so good in the 2016 Lady Macbeth) plays the lead character, Saraya Knight, who longed to get a break and get into the WWE as a featured wrestler. When she gets the chance she finds out it is harder than she ever imagined, including leaving her home and family behind to train in the USA.

All of the first half-hour and much of the remainder is in England, as such it contains much of the uniqueness of British characters, British humor, and British mannerisms. Viewers who don't appreciate that may not enjoy the movie, but I enjoyed it very much. There is a very nice story here and the actors bring it to life very well.

One of my favorite movies of 2019.

Edit: I watched it again in March 2020, a really entertaining movie.

I stopped watching WWF about 10 years or so ago, around the time the Rock and others were leaving...but I STILL loved this movie.

Fun coming of age story with a great amount of laughter, drama, and of course wrestling. Well paced with decent writing and all the actors do well in their roles. For wrestling fans and non fans alike. There's something for everyone to like.

The film was hilarious and it made me laugh constantly, I'm not familiar with the true story so I can't talk about that but I went to the cinema to watch a film that would make me laugh and it did just that.

Although I'm a casual wrestling fan of over 20 years, I wasn't really planning on seeing this. Paige was a good wrestler, but her life story wasn't something I had any interest in. However, even if a lot of stuff might of been "enhanced," the movie doesn't fail to be entertaining. There's a surprisingly good amount of sharp wit and one-liners without being too screwball and keeping the drama intact. All the cast is great, especially Vince Vaughn as the coach who has to dash the recruits' dreams.

But I thought it glossed over too much of what made her special enough to rise in the first place. Sure she had the talent, but if you want to know how she made jump to champion then you're going to be disappointed. So they could've expanded a bit more on that.

Overall, it was a fun time and I can give a hearty recommendation even if you don't care for wrestling.