(Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport – Director/Writer: Sean Durkin – Cast: Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickson – Rating: R – Runtime: 2h 12m)
This review is dedicated in loving memory to Jack Jr., David, Mike, Kerry and Chris.
According to IMDB: “The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s.”
The Film
If you have followed this site or my writing for any amount of time, you’d know what a massive, massive fan of professional wrestling that I am. I started watching the Hulk Hogan-led World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) sometime in the mid-1980s and I never looked back. At the time, I gobbled up any and all wrestling that I could consume, which wasn’t always easy because my family never had cable television. In today’s hyper-connected world, anything can be found with a few simple keystrokes. Back then, not as much. There was wrestling on free television, but it was relegated to one-hour syndicated shows on Saturday mornings. Mostly the WWF or, later, World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
I *most likely* heard about the Von Erich family in the pages of one of the Bill Apter-helmed magazines under the Victory Sports banner. Pro Wrestling Illustrated was my favorite. The Wrestler was a solid read every month as well. From these publications I learned of the Von Erichs and their heroic exploits in Dallas, TX. Kerry had beaten Ric Flair to become the world champion, Kevin was a thrilled barefoot highflyer and David, who was deceased by this time, was rumored to be the most talented of the bunch.
In the early-90s, a pal ran across the Pro Wrestling Torch, deridingly referred to as a “dirt sheet” by industry professionals. Dirt sheets peeled back the curtain of the always-secretive brotherhood and, basing stories on, ahem, “rumor and inuendo,” distilled privileged news to information-hungry fans. After he read it, he passed the issue my way. It was thrilling to learn the inside scoop on the current goings-on in the business.
I’d occasionally run across a videotape featuring World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) matches but it really wasn’t until YouTube came along that I was able to consume the product in any substantial way. I was mostly familiar with Kerry and his run with the Intercontinental Championship in the WWF.
It was when Kerry passed in 1993 that I first learned of the true horrors experienced by the Von Erich Family from the Wrestling Observer, another, arguably the greatest and most influential, of the dirt sheets. Drugs, accidents and death drenched the legendary family in sadness and heartache.
That’s what The Iron Claw is about.
The film tells the story the family patriarch, Fritz, (played impeccably by veteran actor Holt McCallany), a driven and demanding former professional wrestler and his four sons who are attempting to make their way in the business.
The picture unfolds from the viewpoint of oldest (living) son, Kevin (Zac Efron). Viewers watch as he struggles internally as he is passed over in the wrestling business by his younger siblings. This isn’t an easy pill for him to swallow. He soon finds love with his eventual wife, “Pam” (portrayed by the talented and captivating Lily James). She proves to be a steady rock for him to rely upon.
As mentioned early, the family suffers a litany of tragedies. While the film runs a beefy 132 minutes, concessions must be made. Timelines are compressed and rearranged; liberties are taken with certain facts. But it is all in service of the narrative. My brother, who neither knows nor cares about professional wrestling, found the plot digestible and understandable despite the tinkering. (If you really want a laugh, go to the IMDB page of the movie. Some people have waaay too much free time, as every minute physical discrepancy of the Dallas Sportatorium-the venue where the Von Erichs predominantly wrestled-are examined ad nauseum. I mean, I enjoyed it but I’m also a weirdo.)
For as much that had to be tinkered with for narrative and licensing purposes, there are also a ton of details that I popped for. Seeing Sugar Bear Harris’ name in an accounting book listing show pay-offs popped me.
One thing I’m always concerned about when I learn that a wrestling-centric movie is being made is, well, the wrestling. Though it’s, at heart, a sugar-coated pop morality play that is often dismissed as inconsequential by the uninitiated, I bristle whenever it is portrayed in a flippant or derogatory light. I thought Efron, Jeremy Allen White (“Kerry”) and Harrison Dickinson (“David”) showed up and showed out in the ring. They were all aesthetically in phenomenal condition. Effron in particular. He was just disgusting. Dude showed up to set at, like, 2% body fat. The wrestling, itself, looked very good. They trained their asses off and it showed. And if you don’t blink, you will see appearances by real-life grapplers Chavo Guerrero Jr., Ryan Nemeth and the current All Elite Wrestling (AEW) World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF).
However, the bulk of the film doesn’t take place in the ring and that is why is has the heart and soul that it does. Early, it’s about the love of four brothers. They have fun together and have each other’s backs. But each has demons that individually crush them. Viewers experience the desire, need, to please a demanding, often cold father who is channeling his unfulfilled dreams through his children. When things begin to fall apart with the family, the ache felt by the audience is genuine and has been earned.
I’m not the first to say this but I must reiterate, this isn’t just a good wrestling movie, this is a good movie. The script has a warm nostalgia that is that eventually becomes coated with anguish and grief. The cast delivers one nuanced performance after another. I never thought that I’d gush over Zac Efron but I gotta call it like I see it. Dude knocked it out of the park. Director Sean Durkin showed respect to a business in which respect is one of it’s base tenants. The film is relatable and, at times, oddly inspiring. But at the very end, despite a tidal wave of tragedy, there is a pinhole of light and hope and happiness that reminds viewers that the promise of a sunrise follows even our darkest nights.
-Solarbear
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