When making a biopic on a popular figure, there’s always a key moment or two that always need to be included. Telling the story of WWE Superstar Paige’s rise to fame in Fighting With My Family is no exception, as there was one particular portion of her journey she felt absolutely had to be shown on the silver screen. It’s the moment where Paige tried to change herself to fit in with the rest of the WWE Divas candidates she came up with, and according to her, that story had to be told for the following reasons:
I just wanted the crowd to see that I stuck to my guns, and ended up coming back to the way I am. I did try and change, because I thought that was how we were supposed to be in the WWE. I tried to conform, and I wasn’t being my true self. I wanted people to see that I wasn’t being my true self, and that I transformed back into myself again.
This moment comes towards the middle of Fighting With My Family’s narrative, where Florence Pugh’s Paige is feeling rather insecure when pitted against her fellow recruits. Her pale English persona clashes with their conventionally blonde and tan physiques, and she feels that if she’s going to get ahead, she needs to follow that same formula.
So for a little while in the film, we see a tanned and dyed Paige trying to be one of the girls. Of course, without any spoilers for writer/director Stephen Merchant’s film, it’s a moment that sees our heroine quickly revert back to her iconoclastic self. And it happens not a moment too soon, as it’s just in time for the big push into the film’s third act.
When you think of a typical biopic, this might be a moment that's not necessarily always shown, or at the very least is glossed over in the telling of the story. But in Fighting With My Family, Merchant’s handling of the moment allows the story to feel the true weight of this decision. Paige’s story is far from clean cut, and there are some points where her courage falters, leading to decisions such as this one.
Rather than omitting or trivializing those moments, the film takes that piece of the story and integrates it into Paige’s underdog story at a point where it truly helps the story resonate. This, and the film’s beautifully off-kilter sense of humor, both help Fighting With My Family become not only a film that’ll interest wrestling fans, but also a biopic that can entertain non-wrestling folks as well.
You can see Paige herself describing the need to have that moment included in Fighting With My Family, as we personally spoke to her about the film at the film’s recent press junket; and have provided the footage below:
By time Fighting With My Family ends, there’s certainly enough of a story leftover for Paige’s continuing adventures to come back for at least one more entry in her life’s exploits. Should the film do well enough, we might not only see that prospect come to life, but more wrestling biopics like this and the currently announced Hulk Hogan film starring MCU superstar Chris Hemsworth.
For now though, you can catch Fighting With My Family, as it’s currently in limited release, with a wider rollout starting with early screenings tonight. And don’t forget to stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more highlights from the film’s press day, as we have more coverage on the way.
