Sognando il ring

This was the last, and debatably worst, project I was in as a background actor. For 4 days, I filmed the climax cringing and shaking my head at every bit of this brutal sequence I was participating in. The filmmakers know their main audience is kids who are WWE fans, and if they fall for lame WWE narratives they can get away with an excruciatingly lazy story and forced conflict that does these actors no service. The obvious wire work on all the fighting was cheap and sucked too. Are we really this easy to please with a slapdash feature length WWE advertisement when we're 10 years old?

Amongst it all, I can safely say the hip, grandma character is the worst goddamn thing you'll have to sit through. "you just got Grandma'd" will go down as the single worst piece of dialogue of 2020. Thank you Ken Marino for giving us just one funny character amidst the cringe.

Anyways, don't watch this. Maybe this quarantine shutting down all film productions is exactly what this industry needs to get its head on straight.

It was fine for a WWE film that is aimed at a younger demographic. I thought that the didn't make the main character, Leo, very likable at all. I was far more interested in Erica and his other friends (i.e. the surprising twist at the talent contest was maybe the best part of this movie for me, but wasn't explored further sadly). Very predictable but overall, it was fine.

A kid who's a fan of the wrestling tournament culture feels like an outcast with the constant bullying in school. Meanwhile he lives a steady relationship at home, despite the absence of his mother. His mechanic father struggles to spend more time with him, and his Instagram icon-in-the-making grandmother does everything possible to discipline him. In one of his attempts to escape his school's opponents, he finds an old magical mask giving him super wrestling power which leads him to the covet professional tournament filled with evil competitor, specially a monster-like giant and his ambitiously greed agent. A refreshing and funny family comedy about finding your voice and strength, the film is highly recommended for all ages. At times silly but tender and efficient, it also looks at innocence and friendship values through the kid's interaction with his two best friends and his crush. Finally a decent production made for laughter without any buttocks jokes or other similarities. Fast paced, well conceived and convincingly performed, it's a feel good family gem.

It's essentially the same plot as better movies like Rookie of the Year or Like Mike but with half the budget and way more reliance on brand recognition. There's some heart in the film and a few decent jokes. If watching with kids you could do a lot worse. Just don't expect an enduring family tradition to begin.

6 stars for Rick D'ela Thicc the bugeynator bugenhagen. Wouldve given 10 if Ricky bugez had been a bigger part of the movie.