One of Dwayne Johnson's earliest forays into the family-friendly market was 2010's Tooth Fairy, a largely forgettable affair that has now at least led to one good thing.
It was on that movie that Johnson met Stephen Merchant, and a couple of years later when Johnson was watching a Channel 4 documentary in his hotel room, he was inspired to reach out to the co-creator of The Office to make a feature movie on that documentary.
The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family told the true story of WWE superstar Paige, AKA Saraya Bevis, and her family, all of whom are professional wrestlers. Their ups and downs have now been dramatised as Fighting with My Family. You might think that it's only for wrestling fans – but you'd be mistaken.
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Stepping into the ring as the two-time Divas champion Paige is Florence Pugh, showcasing a new side to her that confirms her as one of the brightest talents around.
We knew she was great with darker material as in Lady Macbeth and The Little Drummer Girl, but here she gets to exercise her funny bone, as well as a decent Norfolk accent. It's an engaging performance that sees the movie through its more clichéd sports biopic moments.
It's not just Pugh's show though as Jack Lowden is effectively the co-lead as Saraya's brother Zak, who also auditioned for the WWE like his sister but didn't make it through the audition stage.
Lowden gets to do more heavy lifting as Zak struggles with a rejection from something that he believes is "all I can do". It's these parts of the movie that lift it above your average underdog tale as it's unafraid to show the uglier side of competition.
Fighting with My Family definitely needs these moments of drama, as a lot of what happens will be familiar to anyone who's seen a sports underdog tale. There's your classic training montages and the moments where everything seems against the hero – but what matters is that when you get to the uplifting finale, it does just that.
Only the hardest of hearts won't find themselves swept up in Saraya's WWE debut, even if you know the outcome.
Like with fellow British underdog comedy-drama Eddie the Eagle, the reason that Fighting with My Family is so effective – despite sticking to the formula – is the hugely likeable cast supporting Pugh and Lowden. This includes Nick Frost and Lena Headey as Saraya's wrestling fanatic parents and Vince Vaughn doing his best Full Metal Jacket impression as Saraya's hard-ass coach.
There's even room for a fun cameo from producer Dwayne Johnson as himself (naturally) that leads to a brilliant meta gag that lays the smackdown on his real-life 'feud' with Vin Diesel.
Fighting with My Family is just so good-hearted in nature that you can't help but get won over by its charm, however familiar it feels at times. Powered by Pugh's terrific turn, it's an affecting and consistently funny underdog tale. You'll be happy to return to the ring for a rematch.
Director: Stephen Merchant; Starring: Florence Pugh, Jack Lowden, Lena Headey, Nick Frost, Vince Vaughn, Dwayne Johnson, Stephen Merchant, Nick Frost; Running time: 108 minutes; Certificate: 12A
Fighting with My Family is out now in cinemas.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
