I just had to go see this film, the absolute pro wrestling nerd inside of me required it. This one will be brief, but I have much to say.
Somehow, they took guys like Jeremy Allen White and Zac Efron and made them uglier than the actual Von Erichs. For reference, let me provide you this:
For those of you who don’t know which brother is which, let me help. The dude on the far right of both photos is Kerry Von Erich (portrayed Jeremy Allen White). The dude with the “Superior 47” jersey in the left photo is David Von Erich (portrayed by Harris Dickinson), who is standing front and center in the photo of the actual guys. Zac Efron (Kevin Von Erich) is the dude on the left in the original photo. The old bastard in the back is their father, Fritz Von Erich, who is embodied in the film by Holt McCallany, and is by far the closest rendition of any of their real-life counterparts.
Next, let’s talk about the other wrestler portrayals. Kevin Anton portrays Harley Race, and does a pretty admirable job. Harley wasn’t a bad talker, necessarily, but sometimes he seemed to zone out mid-sentence, and was pretty wooden. Anton nails it.
Then, we come to Aaron Dean Eisenberg’s performance as Ric Flair. I am quite certain that this actor has never watched a single, solitary second of any Ric Flair promo. It wasn’t even close. Eisenberg’s imitation was so awful that it pulled me out of the film. He seemed more like King Slender from the Nintendo Entertainment System video game. You might be saying, well, King Slender was based on Ric Flair, but King Slender is what happens when you can’t get the rights to Ric Flair’s actual likeness. The performance is so terrible that it almost feels like Eisenberg is lampooning Flair. How on Earth this got past director Sean Durkin is a mystery to me. Absolutely horrendous. Once again, I can only presume that neither Durkin nor Eisenberg have ever actually seen Ric Flair talk, but that makes me angry, because if you haven’t, you shouldn’t be making a film about pro wrestling.
Then again, this film isn’t necessarily about pro wrestling. It’s a film about a band of literal brothers who happen to be pro wrestlers, who have tragedy visited upon them. The story is told through the eyes of Kevin Von Erich, the “oldest” Von Erich brother (quotations needed, but no spoilers here). The story was familiar to me, so I have some bones to pick with the order of the story and the omission of one Von Erich brother entirely. I think maybe Durkin inadvertently did Chris Von Erich a favor by leaving him out (or more accurately, combining him with Mike), because the story was made to seem like it all took place within 3 weeks. Kevin’s baby remains an infant throughout the film (save for the very end), and Kerry’s motorcycle accidentIf is impossibly misrepresented. Not only is the timeline wrong, but his massive traumatic wound heals before the scraps and cuts on his body. The film also neglects to mention that Kerry’s injury was hidden from the public by Fritz. Lance Von Erich is pictured ( played by MJF, of all people), but is never mentioned or explained.
I cannot recommend this film to anyone who isn’t already familiar with the story of the Von Erichs, because you will not see so many of the important parts of the story that really made Kevin an absolutely gut-wrenching sympathetic figure. If you are already familiar, this film might make you roll your eyes, or physically angry.
If you are curious about the Von Erichs and WCCW, I cannot recommend highly enough the Federation-produced Triumph & Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling. Peep that out on Peacock right now, watch The Iron Claw afterwards.
A Fool Speaks Loudest 