Zac Efron Shows Us the Beef in ‘The Iron Claw’

As a kid growing up in Pittsburgh in the Sixties, I was not permitted to watch TV during the school week. Which made any weekend viewing option enticing; the best shows were Saturday morning’s “Beany and Cecil,” WIIC’s late night “Chiller Theater,” and Sunday’s ”Wonderful World of Disney.” But late on Saturday afternoons, Bill Cardille, Pie Traynor and Ringside Rosie also beckoned me to the couch to watch Channel 11’s “Studio Wrestling.” Not until I reached an age somewhere short of puberty did I realize this wild TV “sport”—burly, evil characters vying against white-trunked heroes while dodging metal chairs or scrambling for the mercy of clueless referees—was all fake. Which is what drew me to see The Iron Claw, released this past week by A24, and starring a very bronzed and muscular Zac Efron.

A Dad’s Dream

The Iron Claw is inspired by a true story about the Von Erichs, a family of five sons whose determined father raises his boys to compete at the Texas Sportatorium and reclaim the wrestling belt that had eluded him in an earlier career in the ring. Father Von Erich, engrossingly played by Holt McAllany (best known as FBI agent Tench in Netflix’s” Mindhunters),” openly plays favorites with his sons. Curiously, their mother, played coolly by Maura Tierney (Lisa Miller on “NewsRadio” and Abby Lockhart on “ER),” knows better than to get involved. Yet there is a family devotion that seems somehow wholesome. In fact, the oldest son, Kevin Von Erich, played tenderly by Efron, looks out for his younger brothers, working against expectations that his siblings will remain close despite the competitive nature of the family’s driving ambitions. The film conveys a constant and unrelenting tension that those familial dynamics will soon erupt.

The Virtue of Patience

But, not unlike a kid sitting in church or visiting older cousins after Sunday service, we wait. And we wait. To what release or revelation is Director and Screenwriter Sean Durkin driving us? 

Are we to learn that the Von Erich family’s bond is as fake as studio wrestling is? Or, despite the theatrics of bulky men thrashing around in shiny briefs, will we come to understand some meaningful truths in realizing one’s dreams? If there are lessons to learn from success, this is not the film to teach us. Four of the five brothers depicted in the film die outside of the ring. Some may have been destined for the kind of schlocky fame that the World Wrestling Entertainment franchise promotes (think Hulk Hogan, Jesse “The Body” Ventura or Ric Flair, the latter two of which are portrayed in the film.) But, actually, a fifth brother has died (we learn late in the film) at the age of six. And, perhaps known only to true WWE fans, a sixth brother is never even mentioned in this strangely uneven bio-pic. Sadly, as we read the final credits of The Iron Claw, we understand that the film is merely a two and a half hour homage, however tragic, to a family of scrappy brothers and a tough, but earnest father who were inducted (collectively) into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009. 

Lessons Learned

So, what’s the take-away? Zac Efron spent way too much time in a gym with tireless trainers to play this forgettable role. Yet, perhaps for die-hard fans of studio wrestling—and this is a vast and passionate audience barely given credence here—The Iron Claw affords a rare glimpse of the dedication professional wrestling requires. Sorry, but just one episode of Beany and Cecil taught me so much more.

C. Prentiss Orr is a Pittsburgh-based writer who writes about theater and other topics for Entertainment Central.

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