Pros: Finally, Zac Efron is in a good film with a leading role worthy of showcasing his acting chops. He portrays the only surviving Von Erich brother, in a large wrestling family headed by a father, Jack (Holt McCallany) whose methods are unconventional at best and cruel and abusive at worst. The film deals with a lot of years and the rises and falls of the various brothers and how Kevin overcomes the curse that haunts the family and it certainly haunts them. I don't believe in curses, instead, you have controlling and unsympathetic father who informs his surviving sons not to cry at David's (Harris Dickinson's) funeral as men don't cry. There is also the lovely romance between Kevin and his eventual wife, Pam (Lily James, who again transforms into an utterly realistic character).
Cons: You don't know how Jack comes to be involved in marketing and getting wrestling matches on TV and then you learn much too late in the film at how he's cooking the books when Kevin's money issues come into light. His father threatens to disown him if he sells the business but you don't know if he follows through on that threat, though he probably did, knowing him. The epilogue doesn't mention that the parents, Jack and Doris (Maura Tierney) do eventually get divorced and I feel that you needed that.
Recommend: Probably
Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-In reality, there were six Von Erich boys, the film eliminates one of them, who ended up also dying by suicide.
-Three of the Von Erich boys would die from suicide, though Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) had a foot amputated due to a nasty motorcycle accident and then, Michael (Stanley Simons) suffers a shoulder injury and nearly dies during surgery only to recover with a permanent brain injury. David dies of natural causes undoubtedly caused by constantly being beaten up in the rink. He has a ruptured intestine, which has got to be a dreadful way to go.
-In reality, Kevin and Pam have two daughters first and then their boys though the film indicates the opposite. David's daughter died of SIDS but Kerry had two daughters, one of whom would follow in her father's footsteps into the ring.
-Pam states that she wants to become a vet and it appears that does happen, based on her scrubs and the amount of dogs crammed into that tiny apartment.
-It is shocking that Jack would have ever touched the clarinet much less coming close to getting a scholarship to college for music but he gave that up, obviously and doesn't like when his wife brings up that he was ever soft.
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