A Wrestling Dad Lives Too Vicariously through His Sons
“The Iron Claw” is the story of a former pro wrestler who couldn’t win the championship belt himself, but tragically makes his sons try and get it for him.
You either love it or you hate it. I used to hate it. A sizable portion of America loves it. My personal fight-fandom ran through 1970s’ heavyweight boxing, Bruce Lee, and Mixed Martial Arts (the, ahem, real fight club) so I had to develop an appreciation for Pro Wrestling. And I did—the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) is no joke.
The documentary “Beyond the Mat” demonstrated, that, while fake, pro wrestling is potentially lethal fake-ery; it takes a high degree of athleticism, fearlessness, serious pain tolerance, and more than a little bit of crazy, to compete in the pro wrestling world—showbiz or not. I’ve met Hulk Hogan; that behemoth of a man is 6 foot 7 inches tall, weighs 300 pounds; if he hits you with his signature “Leg Drop,” if you’re not a pro wrestler, you’re gonna need an ambulance or a hearse.
Wrestling Movies
Director Sean Durkin’s new movie, “The Iron Claw,” isn’t quite on par with Darren Aronofsky’s depressing but riveting film “The Wrestler” (2008). That one’s about a washed-up pro grappler named Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mikey Rourke), who barely ekes out a living on the has-been circuit, in the grim, seamy wrestling underworld of New Jersey. Rourke was Oscar nominated. “The Wrestler” captured the dank seediness of the small-time wrestling big time.
Another wrestling flick, “Fighting with My Family“ (2019) took the biopic approach (similar to ”The Iron Claw”) and focused on the true story of an all-in-the-family, English wrestling clan and its famous member, female wrestling champ Paige (Florence Pugh in one of her early series of star-making performances). Superstar wrestler and actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, himself the most famous member of a well-known wrestling clan, had a small role and also produced.
The Iron Claw
“The Iron Claw” features the multi-generational wrestling enterprise of the Von Erich family, and is even more of a family movie than “Fighting with My Family.” It’s ultimately dedicated to filial devotion, by way of a wrestling vehicle.
(L–R) The Von Erich brothers: David (Harris Dickinson), Kevin (Zac Efron), Mike (Stanley Simons), and Kerry Von Erich (Jeremy Allen White) in "The Iron Claw." A24
Set mainly in the 1980s, the story is related by Kevin, the family’s second-oldest son (Zac Efron). Efron, who said he never, ever, wanted to be in the excruciating-to-maintain, jacked-up, ripped-to-shreds, body-building shape he got into for “Baywatch,” has impressively eaten his words and packed on slabs of muscle again.
He also clearly studied the repertoire of pro wrestling moves, such as the Double Underhook Neckbreaker, the Elevated Powerbomb, the Assisted Faceslam, the Airplane Spin, the Flying Clothesline, the Headbutt to the Groin, the Tombstone Piledriver—and last but not least—the Iron Claw!
The Von Erich Curse
The story’s red thread is the Kennedy-clan-like Von Erich “curse,” a non-stop onslaught of personal and professional disasters and mishaps that kept the Von Erich’s from ascending to pro wrestling’s throne, starting with the drowning of first-born son, 6-year-old Jack Jr.. As per the movie’s clear-cut depiction, the source of all the bad karma is Fritz (Holt McCallany): the Von Erich brother’s ruthlessly demanding, fame-gluttonous dad.
(L–R) Kevin (Zac Efron), Fritz (Holt McCallany), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), and David (Harris Dickinson) play football in "The Iron Claw." A24/Lionsgate
Fritz was a former wrestler, who, although he invented one of the sillier moves in the wrestling canon, “The Iron Claw,” never managed to crack the top rank himself, and therefore lives vicariously, like an addict, through his son’s successes, cracking the whip over their endless wrestling workouts and rehearsals. He even has a shamelessly candid ranking system about who’s currently his favorite son.
Unlike how Garrett Morris’s Saturday Night Live character Chico Escuela said that baseball was “Berry, berry good to me, thank you berry much!,” wrestling was not really berry good to the Von Erich’s. In real life, out of all the brothers, that is, Kerry, Fritz, Kevin, Chris, Mike, and David—only Kevin remains alive as of 2024. Three sons committed suicide, one died of gastroenteritis, and another lost a leg to helmet-less, beer-fueled, post-championship, Harley-riding hubris. And none of the above puts a stop to their father’s continued calling for more blood, sweat, and tears in the hope that his boys finally deposit that championship belt in his house.
Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) about to go for a drunk-driving, career-ending motorcycle ride in "The Iron Claw." A24/Lionsgate
Post-Game Analysis
The movie’s constant threat of wandering into melodramatic sentimentality is reigned in only by Efron’s portrait of Kevin Von Erich, an old school American male—deeply heartfelt, yet stoic.
What with the constant parade of sweaty male bodies, there’s a curious patina of what would now be immediately labeled as homo-eroticism, but which is thankfully played for humor—after all, it’s a family of male athletes always walking around in the ubiquitous tighty-white-y briefs that were de rigueur for the 1980’s American male, prior to rapper Marky Mark’s (Wahlberg) 1992 Times Square, skyscraper-high, Calvin Klein underwear poster. The period of the 1950s through the 1980s was a pretty hilarious time for American male underwear.
The British Lily James, sporting a very good American Southern accent, plays Efron’s future wife Pam, and lends the thespian gravitas that A-list Brits doing spot-on American accents automatically confer.
Kevin Von Erich (Zac Efron) taking out a wrestling opponent in "The Iron Claw." A24/Lionsgate
Although most of the movie’s hurtling stunt work was actually done by the actors, and is therefore laudable, I personally can’t get excited about pro wrestling’s in-the-ring shenanigans. I do appreciate the hilarity of the on-the-edge berserker mayhem like swan-diving off the top of 20-foot cages and body-slamming into metal folding chairs, and getting stapled by staple-guns. But as mentioned, America’s got a sizable, rabid fandom who swear the wrestling’s real, and for them, “The Iron Claw” may be quite engaging.
Now, I also deeply appreciate the funniness of pro wrestling’s motor-mouthed, smack-talking rants. My favorite thing out of pro wrestling is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson sprinkling the American lexicon with such fabulous nuggets as Listen Jabroni, you need to drink a tall glass of shut-up juice! I’m waiting for the movie about the history of trash-talk in the WWF.
Would you like to see other kinds of arts and culture articles? Please email us your story ideas or feedback at [email protected]
Promotional poster for "The Iron Claw." A24/Lionsgate
‘The Iron Claw’
Director: Sean Durkin
Starring: Zac Efron, Lily James, Maura Tierney, Jeremy Allen White, Holt McCallany, Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simons
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 2 hours, 12 minutes
Release Date: Dec. 22, 2023
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Mark Jackson
Film Critic
Mark Jackson is the chief film critic for The Epoch Times. In addition to film, he enjoys martial arts, motorcycles, rock-climbing, qigong, and human rights activism. Jackson earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Williams College, followed by 20 years' experience as a New York professional actor. He narrated The Epoch Times audiobook "How the Specter of Communism is Ruling Our World," available on iTunes, Audible, and YouTube. Mark is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
