
Starring: Florence Pugh, Jack Lowden, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn, Dwayne Johnson, James Burrows, Thea Trinidad, Kim Matula, Aqueela Zoll, Ellie Gonsalves, Stephen Merchant
OUR RATING: ★★★½
Story:
Bio-comedy drama based on a true story written and directed by Stephen Merchant. Fighting with My Family centers on reformed gangster Ricky Knight (Nick Frost), his wife, Julia (Lena Headey), their daughter, Paige (Florence Pugh), and son, Zak (Jack Lowden), as they make a living wrestling together in tiny venues. When Paige and Zak get the opportunity to try out for WWE, the family grabs a once-in-a-lifetime chance to turn their wildest dreams into a dazzling future. However, brother and sister quickly discover that to become superstars, both their talent and their relationship will be put to the test.
Our Favorite Quote:
'Don't worry about being the next me. Be the first you.' - Dwayne Johnson (Fighting with My Family) Click To Tweet
Best Quotes
Ricky Knight: [as young Zack is wrestling with young Paige] Zak, what the bloody hell do you think you’re doing? If you really want to choke her out, interlock the fingers.
Young Zak: Yeah.
Ricky Knight: Now pull it tight. Oh, yeah. Now she’s in trouble.
Ricky Knight: Hey, Saraya. You don’t have to look pretty today, princess.
Julia Knight: Yeah, but she’s not just pretty on the outside, is she? In there is a heart of gold. Do anything for anyone.
Young Saraya: What are you two d**kheads after?
Ricky Knight: Babe, I am a girl down for the under eighteens match.
Young Saraya: No. I don’t want to be a wrestler.
Julia Knight: You would love the buzz, darling. It’s like coke, crack, heroin combined.
Young Saraya: Have you done coke, crack, and heroin?
Julia Knight: Not combined.
Townie #2: Oh, wait, I know you. You’re from that weird family, aren’t you?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: We’re not weird.
Townie #2: Yeah, her brother was on the news. Didn’t he do something mental? Isn’t he in jail?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: You should come tonight. It’ll be really fun.
Townie #1: We don’t like wrestling.
Hannah: How do you know if you’ve never been?
Townie #2: I’ve never had rectal bleeding before, but I’m pretty sure I’m not a fan of that.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: How about I shove her head up your a** and we can find out?
Daphne: Courtney tells us that you’re all wrestlers.
Ricky Knight: Yeah. Yeah.
Julia Knight: The whole family.
Ricky Knight: Yep. Yes, we are. Whole family of wrestlers.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: And our half-brother, Roy.
Daphne: So, what sort of people enjoy wrestling?
Hugh: That’s a good question.
Daphne: I mean, it’s all fake anyway, isn’t it?
Ricky Knight: Come again?
Courtney: It’s not fake, it’s fixed.
Ricky Knight: Yeah, if it was fake, would I have broken half the parts of my body deaf?
Zak Knight: His left leg bends both ways.
Julia Knight: Well, that’s nothing. You should see his c**k.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Mum.
Julia Knight: Sorry. P**is. You should see his p**is.
Daphne: How did you get into wrestling?
Julia Knight: It’s quite a romantic story.
Daphne: We like romantic stories, so.
Julia Knight: Oh, right, well, you’ll like this one. Well, when I met Rick, I was thinking of killing meself.
Ricky Knight: Pills.
Julia Knight: I was homeless, abused, living on the street, you know.
Daphne: Yep.
Ricky Knight: I myself had done eight years in prison.
Daphne: Prison? What was that for?
Ricky Knight: Mainly violence.
Julia Knight: Mainly violence, yeah.
Ricky Knight: Bit of armed robbery. You know?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: [over phone] Hello? Yeah, hang on. Can I put you on speaker for a second? Yeah, hang on.
Julia Knight: Who is it?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: I don’t know. Go ahead.
Hutch: Am I speaking to Zak and Britani?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yeah.
Hutch: My name is Hutch Morgan. I’m calling from WWE. We were very impressed by your tape. In April, we’re bringing SmackDown to the O2 in London, and we’d like both of you to come down and try out for us.
[Zak and Paige are speechless]
Hutch: Hello?
Courtney: They’d be very happy to accept.
Hutch: Good. And we already have a Britani, so just think of an alternative name.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yeah, sure, okay. Thank you so much!
Zak Knight: Yeah, yeah. Thank you. Thank you very much, sir.
[as the call ends they all start whooping and yelling in excitement]
Daphne: Sorry, what is the WWE?
Ricky Knight: Say what?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: This is our shot, Zak.
Zak Knight: I know.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: But what if I screw up?
Zak Knight: You won’t. Come on. You’re going to smash it tomorrow.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: How do you know?
Zak Knight: Because you’re a Knight. Wrestling’s in your blood.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: That’s not good. That makes it sound like hepatitis.
Zak Knight: Yeah, it is. We’re riddled with wrestling. And there’s no cure.
Dwayne Johnson: [Paige and Zak bump into him] Sorry about that.
Zak Knight: Sorry, mate.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: D**k me dead, bury me pregnant.
Dwayne Johnson: [chuckle] That’s a good pick-up line.
Zak Knight: This is my sister, Saraya.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: We’re huge fans.
Dwayne Johnson: Thank you so much.
Zak Knight: Since we were kids.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yeah, we’ve been fans since you had hair.
Dwayne Johnson: [chuckles] Oh, thank you. Hey, it’s a choice. A damn good one too.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yeah, no, it looks good.
Zak Knight: It looks great, fantastic.
Dwayne Johnson: See you, guys.
Zak Knight: Rock, Rock, Rock!
Dwayne Johnson: [slams the wall then turns around] Yes, Zak.
Zak Knight: What advice would you give us if we want to…
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Win over the crowd.
Zak Knight: Win over the crowd? If we want to, if we want to be the next you.
Dwayne Johnson: What are your names again?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: My name…
Dwayne Johnson: It doesn’t matter what your names are! You walk around here interrupting The Rock!
Dwayne Johnson: [to Paige] You’re like you haven’t seen the sun in twenty years!
Dwayne Johnson: [to Zak] You’re like you just stepped out of Oliver Twist!
Dwayne Johnson: [in a mocking English accent] “Please, sir. May I have some more advice, sir?” You want some advice? Here’s The Rock’s advice! Shut your mouth!
Dwayne Johnson: [points to Zak] What you want?!
Dwayne Johnson: [points to Paige] What you want! How about what The Rock wants? The Rock wants you to go out there, take no prisoners, have no regrets, have no fear! Lay it all out on the line! Because if you don’t do that, The Rock is going to find your friend Mary Poppins. He’s going to take her umbrella. Yeah, he’s going to shine it up real nice. He’s going to turn that son of a b**ch sideways and stick it straight up your candy a**es! There’s your advice, straight out of the Jabroni-beating, pie-eating, trailblazing, eyebrow-raising, entertaining the globe, never hotter, talking to two rejects from Harry Potter!
Dwayne Johnson: So that’s how you win over the crowd.
Zak Knight: Yeah.
Dwayne Johnson: Even though this crazy wrestling world is a fictionalized world, The fans know a thousand percent if you’re not being real. Alright? That guy just now, that was The Rock. The Rock is me. Dwayne Johnson. Just with the volume turned way up, the treble adjusted, the bass. Same guy. So don’t worry about being the next me. Be the first you.
Hutch: Hey! Are you two here for the tryouts?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yeah.
Zak Knight: Yeah.
Hutch: You can’t just hang out with The Rock. What are you, Make-A-Wish kids? Let’s go!
Dwayne Johnson: Better go.
Zak Knight: Thanks, mate.
Hutch: Yeah.
Zak Knight: Thanks, Dwayne.
Dwayne Johnson: Got it.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: That was The Rock!
Zak Knight: Insane, insane. Come on, let’s go.
Hutch: To be a WWE Superstar, you have to have two things. Number one, you got to have the skills, and number two, you have to have the spark. Now, skills, that’s obvious, right? You got to be able to wrestle. The spark, well, that’s the magic dust. It’s what the audience falls in love with. It’s why they buy your poster. It’s why they come back every week. It’s why they chant your name. It’s why they buy a six-inch action figure of you. Do you see yourself as a six-inch action figure?
Wrestling Performer: Yeah. Yes, I do. I see myself as WWE Champion.
Hutch: Ding, ding, ding! Bingo, guys! That’s exactly right. That’s called a great attitude. And that’s a big plate of yes. That is one of the biggest requirements that you have to have to be a WWE Superstar. And you don’t have any of the other things. But the attitude’s the one thing you’re in control over, and the attitude’s the one thing that you have.
Hutch: Name.
Zak Knight: Zak Zodiac.
Hutch: Sounds a little bit like a dancer at a male strip club. Why do you want to wrestle?
Zak Knight: I want to be a wrestler because since I was three years old I could name every single WWE wrestler just by looking at their boots. And I’ve wanted to be one ever since. I’m passionate, I’m determined, and I’m the toughest b****rd in any room. Including this one. Oh, probably shouldn’t swear, not when there’s ladies present.
[turns to the short guy with long hair next to him]
Zak Knight: Sorry, miss. Sorry about that.
Hutch: Miss, what’s your name?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Saraya. No, sorry, Britani.
Hutch: Do you not remember your name?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: No, I do. It’s just they asked me to change it.
Hutch: Do you remember what you changed it to?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yeah.
Hutch: Okay, that’s good. What is it?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Paige.
Hutch: As a wrestling name, Paige?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yeah.
Hutch: Paige feels a little more like she might work at the perfume counter at the mall. Like, “Do you want a free sample?”
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: No, Paige is the name of a witch from a TV show that I like.
Hutch: So you liked the name off the show and then you took it?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yeah.
Hutch: Nobody’s going to pay to watch a timid little British girl wrestle.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yeah, well, not all British girls are timid. Just like not all Americans are arrogant wankers. Just saying.
Hutch: Why do you want to wrestle, Paige?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Been wrestling since I was thirteen. My whole family wrestles.
Hutch: But why do you want to wrestle?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Been wrestling since I was thirteen. My whole family wrestles.
Hutch: But why do you want to wrestle?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: It’s an escape, isn’t it? From the real world. And when I’m in that ring with my family, working together, flowing together, it feels like the world just disappears. And I sort of feel like I belong somewhere.
Hutch: She showed us her heart. And I want to vomit.
Hutch: Give yourselves a big hand, everybody. That was a tremendous amount of energy and effort, and I want to thank all of you for that. It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there, and I respect that. If I call your name, please step forward. That means you will be coming with me to Florida, where you will join NXT Developmental. At which point, we will a**ess whether or not you get to go onto the WWE. If I do not call your name, then this is the end of the line for you.
Hutch: [pauses] Paige.
Hutch: [to the rest of the group] Thank you all very much.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: [after Hutch has chosen Paige] This isn’t right.
Zak Knight: Raya.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: You have to take my brother.
Hutch: Excuse me?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: No one deserves this more than Zak. Why didn’t you pick him?
Hutch: Ninety-nine percent of the people don’t get picked.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: He was running rings around those other guys.
Hutch: We’re not looking for ring runners.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: No, wait. You have to explain why you didn’t pick him!
Hutch: I don’t have to explain anything. I wish you the best, son. But this is the end of the line for you.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: If he’s not going, neither am I.
Zak Knight: Raya, don’t be stupid, okay?
Hutch: Is that a threat?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yes.
Zak Knight: No.
Hutch: You know, thousands of people apply for this opportunity every week. Now, I’m going to give you ten seconds to let me know that you want it.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Not without Zak.
Zak Knight: Coach, she wants this. Don’t listen to her. Raya, let’s just leave it. Come on!
Hutch: Five.
Zak Knight: Raya.
Hutch: Four.
Zak Knight: You’re not just doing this for you, Raya, are you? You’re doing it for the family.
Hutch: Three. Two.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yeah, okay, I want this.
Hutch: See you in Florida.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Hi. I’m Saraya. No, Britani. Wait, Paige.
Jeri-Lynn: I love your accent. You sound like a Nazi in a movie.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Oh, thank you.
Jeri-Lynn: Here. Read something.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: [reads from the newspaper] Okay. “The sudden fire claimed the lives of five orphans.”
Jeri-Lynn: I love it.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: “The charred remains of the children could only be identified from dental records.”
Jeri-Lynn: So sexy, right?
Madison: So sexy. I am so jealous of you right now.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Thank you.
Hutch: Good morning, wrestling nerds.
Wrestling Trainees: Good morning, Coach!
Hutch: Welcome to promo class. Now, as you all know, wrestling is storytelling. It is soap opera in spandex. Good versus evil. Babyface versus heel. We do a lot of our storytelling in the ring with wrestling, but equally as important, you must be able to storytell on the mic. This is an essential part of being able to get over with the fans. This is your opportunity to let them know who you are. Tell them what you’re about. The WWE can put you on the main roster, but only the fans can keep you there.
Hutch: [training the wrestlers] Who wants to go first?
Jeri-Lynn: My name is Jeri-Lynn. And I may look like the girl next door, but underneath this is a firecracker. And I am going to blow you.
Hutch: Excuse me?
Jeri-Lynn: Out of the water.
Hutch: My ten year-old just asked me some questions I don’t want to answer.
Jeri-Lynn: Yep.
Hutch: Let’s put it together. Let’s keep it one.
Jeri-Lynn: Of course.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Sometimes, WWE, they hire girls who just want to jiggle their t*ts and a** and get famous, basically. Like cheerleaders, models, dancers, whatever.
Madison: I was a model.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Oh, right.
Jeri-Lynn: Cheerleader.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Cool. Well, at least you’re not dancers.
[Madison and Jeri-Lynn just stare at her]
Ricky Knight: Look, babe. You ain’t pregnant, are you?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: No, I’m not pregnant, dad.
Ricky Knight: I will hit the roof.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: No, I’m not pregnant! It’s fine.
Zak Knight: She’s quitting.
Ricky Knight: What?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: You prick.
Zak Knight: You’re welcome.
Ricky Knight: [after Zak has told them Paige is quitting wrestling] Wait. You what?
Julia Knight: Raya, I’m confused. Is he joking?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: No, I can’t do it.
Julia Knight: Of course, you can do it.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: No, I wake up, I work out, I train, I come home, I can’t sleep. And then we do it all again the next day. I’m really lonely and I have no friends.
Ricky Knight: Yeah, life of a wrestler. Get a cat.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: No, dad, I don’t want to be four thousand miles away. I want to be here, I want to be with my family.
Ricky Knight: You’re doing this for your family.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yeah, I thought Zak would be there.
Ricky Knight: Well, he ain’t there! He bollocks it up! So did Roy! I’m not letting you bollocks it up and all!
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: I’m not going back!
Ricky Knight: You are going back to the States, if I have to drag you there myself!
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: You’re an alchie ex-con, dad! They’re not going to let you in!
Ricky Knight: Oi, you watch your mouth!
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Zak, why won’t you talk to me?
Zak Knight: Because I can’t even look at you.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Why?
Zak Knight: Why? Why? Okay, do you actually know what it’s like, Raya, to want one thing in life? One dream that you think about every single day, you work for, and you train for, and you get that close to it, and then your own sister takes it away from you. And then it turns out she doesn’t even want it in the first place. That’s why.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: I didn’t take your dream, Zak.
Zak Knight: No, then why am I still here?!
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Because they didn’t want you! I’m sorry, and it is so shitty, but it is not my fault. And it’s not yours. It is just how it is.
Zak Knight: Right.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yeah. So you can either curl up into a ball and die, or you can live with it and move on and start seeing all the things you’ve got here.
Zak Knight: What have I got here?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: A beautiful son, a girlfriend that loves you. All those kids at the gym. Zak, you’re teaching a blind kid how to wrestle. How is that even possible? Just because millions of people aren’t cheering when you do it, it doesn’t mean it’s not important. I didn’t take your dream, Zak. It was my dream too.
Zak Knight: Then why are you throwing it away?
Ricky Knight: [over phone] Which prick is calling me during WrestleMania?
Dwayne Johnson: It’s Dwayne Johnson.
Ricky Knight: Yeah, and I’m Vin Diesel, mate.
Dwayne Johnson: Well, let’s hope not. No, it is, Mr. Knight. It’s Dwayne Johnson. How are you?
Ricky Knight: Prove it.
Dwayne Johnson: Okay. If you smell what The Rock is cooking!
Ricky Knight: Yeah? Bullshit.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: [to Dwayne] I’m sorry.
Ricky Knight: [over phone] What?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Dad, it’s actually him.
Ricky Knight: You what?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yeah, it’s actually him.
Ricky Knight: Hold the line one second. It’s Saraya and The Rock.
Julia Knight: [disbelievingly] Yeah, right.
Ricky Knight: I got you on speakerphone, sir.
Dwayne Johnson: Hey, yeah. It’s Dwayne Johnson. I’m here with your daughter now, and I first met her in London, and I’ve been keeping tabs on her. And I just heard some news that I wanted to share with her, and I thought you guys should hear it too at the same time.
Dwayne Johnson: [referring to Paige] Tomorrow night she’ll make her debut live on RAW, and she will be fighting AJ Lee for the Divas title.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Wait. What?
Julia Knight: D**k me dead, bury me pregnant.
Dwayne Johnson: There it is again.
Julia Knight: You don’t know what this means to us, Mr. Rock.
Dwayne Johnson: Actually, I know exactly what it means to you, ma’am. I myself have come from a wrestling family too, and I wanted to share this news with you guys just so you could enjoy it, and also just so Paige can prepare herself mentally to go out there tomorrow night and win over the crowd. Because if you don’t do that, then they’re going to find somebody else who will. And then this whole opportunity will be gone by next week.
Ricky Knight: She’s not going to let you down, Mr. Rock. I promise you. She’s going to smash it. She’ll kill it.
Julia Knight: Proud of you, Ray.
Ricky Knight: I love you, princess. We’re all with you, darling.
Julia Knight: You’re amazing, baby.
Ricky Knight: I love you, Rock.
[awkward silence]
Ricky Knight: Rock?
Dwayne Johnson: I love you too.
Zak Knight: [over FaceTime] Well, you got a face like a bulldog licking pi** off a thistle.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Zak, I can’t do this.
Zak Knight: What are you talking about?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: I’m going to choke, I’m going to screw up. I’m going to botch a move. I won’t go over with the crowd.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Zak, I have no idea who I’m supposed to be out there.
Zak Knight: Do what The Rock said. Be the first you.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Oh, bollocks to The Rock! That’s not advice, Zak, that’s a tweet! He’s not some weirdo freak from Norwich, is he?
Zak Knight: No, but that is who you are. Who else you going to be? Come on, if you can’t do this, no one can. You’re a Knight. Wrestling’s in your blood.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Like hepatitis?
Zak Knight: A, B, and C. Riddled.
Zak Knight: And you got something else. Something that I don’t have.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yeah? Like what?
Zak Knight: That extra something.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yeah, you don’t know that.
Zak Knight: I’ve always known that. Why do you think I’ve been acting like such a prick? And listen to me, right? No matter what happens, when you go out there, it will never be as bad as that time in King’s Lynn, when I went on wearing dad’s shorts.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: [laughing] When your p**is fell out!
Zak Knight: When my p**is fell out.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Everyone was laughing at it.
Zak Knight: Everyone wasn’t laughing at it. People were laughing at the situation.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Why did you even stay in the ring?
Zak Knight: Because I’m a bloody professional. And so are you, right? That’s what I’m saying. So, have you got your own shorts on tonight?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Yes. My p**is won’t fall out.
Zak Knight: Then get out there. Alright?
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Thank you.
Zak Knight: It’s what I’m here for. Now, go and win over that crowd. I want to hear them chanting your name.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: Okay.
Saraya ‘Paige’ Knight: [after she wins the WWE Divas Championship] I am a freak, from Norwich, England! And I have dreamt of this since I was thirteen years-old! And it’s not just mine, it belongs to my family. It belongs to anyone who ever felt like they are the freak from Norwich, the oddballs, the outsiders, the ones that don’t belong. My name is Paige. And this is my house now!
Trailer:
What does Mom Saraya say after the family receives the phone call from Dwayne Johnson?