Review: Fighting with My Family

The Strange but Charming True Story of a Professional Wrestling Family from England

By Chris Sabga

Release Date: February 22, 2019 – U.S. • Rating: PG-13 • Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama • Running Time: 108 minutes • Director: Stephen Merchant • Writer: Stephen Merchant • Cast: Florence Pugh, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Jack Lowden, Vince Vaughn, Dwayne Johnson

Based on the documentary of the same name, "Fighting with My Family" tells the stranger-than-fiction true story of professional wrestling's "Knight" family. (Like almost everything else in wrestling, "Knight" isn't their real name – "Bevis" doesn't sound quite as catchy though.) They're a ragtag group of misfits that run a small independent wrestling organization in Norwich, England called World Association of Wrestling (WAW). It is literally a mom-and-pop shop. The parents, Ricky and Julia (Nick Frost and Lena Headey), are the promoters and wrestlers. Their son Zak (Jack Lowden) also wrestles. (Another son, Roy, is a wrestler too – but he's in prison for most of the film.) Saraya (Florence Pugh) joins the family business at the ridiculously young age of 13. She would eventually attain worldwide fame as Paige in WWE, but before that, she wrestled as a child under the name Britani Knight. To show just how deeply passionate – and obsessed – wrestlers can be, Saraya was actually named after her mum's in-ring character, Sweet Saraya. 

Eventually, both Saraya and Zak are invited to attend a WWE tryout. There, they memorably run into The Rock (Dwayne Johnson). Did this really happen? As The Rock might say, IT DOESN'T MATTER if it really happened! Whether the scene is factual or fabricated, it gives Johnson an excuse to cut a classic Rock promo. That's a good enough reason for me! (The Rock was instrumental in getting in this movie made and released.)

The tryout is coached by a former wrestler named Hutch (Vince Vaughn, playing a slightly gentler version of his drill sergeant character from "Hacksaw Ridge"). Hutch was created for the movie but serves as a stand-in for various real-life coaches and wrestlers. His backstory suspiciously resembles Mick Foley, who famously threw himself off the roof of the "Hell in a Cell" cage. However, unlike Hutch, Foley actually became a star. More likely, the Hutch character is meant to represent journeymen dreamers like Jimmy Jacobs and B.J. Whitmer – who almost killed themselves in an insane cage match at a show called "Supercard of Honor II" in front of a few hundred people (I was there, and it was one of the damnedest things I've ever seen) – and many others like them.

As wrestling fans already know, Saraya is chosen and Zak is not. This leads to resentment and a downward spiral for Zak, while Saraya deals with the culture shock of moving from England to America – specifically from drab, grey Norwich to bright, sunny Florida. At the WWE training camp, the newly christened Paige – named after her favorite character from the TV show "Charmed" – feels like a "freak" next to the other female trainees, all of whom are "Barbie doll" models and cheerleaders. While the women in the movie are fictionalized, they accurately represent WWE's hiring practices at the time. 

Even though some characters and elements are fictionalized, and some aspects of what actually happened are shifted around or combined to tell a cleaner story, "Fighting with My Family" is the rare biopic that is almost entirely factual. 

Florence Pugh is so good in her role that I often forgot I wasn't watching the real Paige. Jack Lowden excels at the difficult task of conveying Zak's disappointment, bitterness, and broken dreams. He's "the heavy" of the film in the way, and not always likable, but he never loses his humanity. Nick Frost and Lena Headey are precious as their parents, especially Frost, who talks about his character's prison time in such a casual, matter-of-fact way – as if it's no different or less ordinary than toasting bread for breakfast. Also look for writer-director Stephen Merchant in a small but priceless role (Julia Davis, who plays his wife, is also a standout). Thea Trinidad (WWE's Zelina Vega) plays AJ Lee in the film's climactic scene, and eagle-eyed wrestling fans will enjoy spotting other blink-and-you'll-miss-it wrestler cameos. Rest assured that no wrestling knowledge is required to enjoy this film. (After all, did you know anything about Jamaican bobsleds before or after watching "Cool Runnings"?) Silver Screen Sister, who doesn't know Hulk Hogan from the Incredible Hulk, absolutely adored watching this. So did I. Paige's journey is a great underdog story, period.

"Fighting with My Family" is funny, quirky, sweet, and heartfelt. It will end up being one of the year's best films.

Review: The Purge

Murder Mass-Marketed

By Chris Sabga

Release Date: June 7, 2013 – U.S.

Rating: R

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Running Time: 85 minutes

Director: James DeMonaco

Writer: James DeMonaco

Cast: Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, 

Max Burkholder, Adelaide Kane, 

Edwin Hodge, Rhys Wakefield, 

Tony Oller, Arija Bareikis   

For one night, all crime – including murder – is completely legal. That's the alluring premise behind "The Purge," a horror-thriller set in the near-future – 2022, to be exact. The Purge is a law created by America's "New Founding Fathers." Before The Purge, violence and poverty were sky high. Now, crime rates are down to 1%. According to James Sandin (Ethan Hawke), "The Purge saved our country."

Sandin is a security salesman, and his house is fully locked down – with his own equipment, naturally. He's ready for the big yearly Purge.

Most Americans view the "event" with a sort of reverence. Purge Fever is so rampant that entire neighborhoods celebrate by attending "Purge Parties." On TV, psychologists fawn over the health benefits of "purging" bad thoughts from your system. Any deaths incurred on that night are viewed as "sacrifices for your country." Even James and his wife, Mary, treat the idea of "purging" casually. When their innocent son, Charlie (Max Burkholder), asks them about it, they admit they've "never felt the need" to "purge," but their tone and cadence indicate that it would obviously be no big deal to commit legal murder. In their minds, he's too young to understand and remember what the United States used to be like.

Just as we're bombarded with suggestions/warnings to "support our troops," the U.S. citizens of 2022 have been conditioned to support The Purge.

While the film starts off as a wicked satire, there is a constant layer of tension and unease lurking as the audience waits with anticipation and dread for the 12-hour Purge to begin. Two problems present themselves soon after the clock strikes:

1.  On the monitor, young Charlie sees a homeless man (played by Edwin Hodge) outside the house running for his life and begging for shelter. The sweet, naïve boy can't just sit back and do nothing.

2. His teenage sister, Zoey (Adelaide Kane), is secretly dating an older boy/man, Henry (Tony Oller), and the idiot has locked himself inside their house during The Purge because he wants to confront and convince her father to allow them to date.

As the night unfolds, a group of purgers surround the Sandin fortress. They're led by a man in a mask (Rhys Wakefield), who makes his demands known in a very calm but chilling voice.

From there, "The Purge" turns into a full-fledged horror-thriller – as expected. At only 85 minutes, the pace is brisk; there's never a slow, dull moment – or a moment to breathe.

Ethan Hawke once again shows his tremendous acting range. In the "Before" series, he's loose and easygoing. Here, he's uptight and constrained – perhaps because he continually denies himself his yearly "release" allowed by The Purge? Whatever the case may be, his scowling jowl is very reminiscent of Harrison Ford.

The movie isn't perfect though. About midway through, Hawke's character makes the kind of illogical decision that could only happen in a script. In one fell swoop, he morphs from fearful family man to horror movie Rambo. Some of the masks and mannerisms also border on the ridiculous – as if they're creepy just for the sake of it. All of that silliness aside, the "purge" concept is effective and well-executed.

From a psychological standpoint, it is interesting to see the idea of murder so thoroughly examined. For this family, it goes from an abstract positive to a terrifying reality they'll have to deal with for the rest of their lives. Class and financial status are also explored cleverly, with Hawke's rich patriarch commenting off-handedly about their "safe" neighborhood and how lucky they are to be able to afford such top-flight security.

"The Purge" has a few minor issues, but it's the rare example of a horror movie that actually has something to say.