We’re into our SEVENTH SERIES! It is hard to believe we’ve made it this far, but just as well, really, given the number of films we're still yet to cover. We begin this series with the heartwarming tale of a family, some with dodgy pasts, but all with a lovable lust for life.
The fighting Knights from Norfolk were the subject of a 2011 Channel 4 documentary when son Zak and daughter Saraya were on the cusp of hitting the big time as wrestlers, hoping to join the promised land of WWE. One made it; the other did not.
This documentary inspired arguably the most famous wrestler of all time, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, to retell the tale. Armed with the clout of WWE backing, a cast of BritCom stars, up-and-coming acting starlets, and already-legendary TV comedy writer/director Stephen Merchant, he hoped to transfer this real-life story to the big screen.
The last time we heard from Merchant on this podcast, things were beginning to become considerably less rosy with longtime collaborator Ricky Gervais, after their venture into the coming-of-age com Cemetery Junction was met with the lukest of lukewarm receptions in 2010. We pick up their tale again with their last TV stand as a partnership: the Warwick Davis vehicle Life’s Too Short, also from 2011.
Joining Rob and Guy for this one, all the way from The House of Splain, is confessed wrestling fan and Gervais... anti-fan Ben Baker. He helps our hosts make a bit more sense of the wrestling aspect of Fighting with My Family, which is the first film ever to be covered on BritCom Goes to the Movies that was adapted from a documentary.
We’ve had plenty of fun dissecting Mindhorn and Smashie and Nicey with fellow ’Splainer Ricardo Autobahn, so it seemed only fair to give his podcasting other half a crack at the whip!
Gervais, Merchant and Davis as Gervais, Crouch and Rooney
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDH8RKhwCkc
