FANTASIA 2020: You Cannot Kill David Arquette
fantasiaProfessional wrestling is scripted but in no way is it fake. These athletes put their careers, bodies and lives on the line each and every time they enter the squared circle. The business requires heart, hustle and respect to even have the chance of succeeding. In professional wrestling promotions, athletes, management and writers work together to create gimmicks and characters in the hopes of putting themselves over. Wrestling is a craft and, in turn, respect is one of the core tenets of the business, stemming from pride and love for professional wrestling. Any sign of disrespect to the business is not left unpunished. To succeed as a wrestler one is expected to earn their stripes, be the best they can, and give back to the industry.
While disrespect rarely seeps out of backstage, Hollywood actor David Arquette became involved in one of the worst scandals to rock the wrestling world when he won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on an episode of WCW Monday Nitro. In 2000, Arquette became involved in WCW storylines to promote the film Ready to Rumble. Arquette was a wrestling fan, but he had never trained in the sport and, subsequently, never worked his way up the title card. Because he was an outsider, wrestlers and fans alike shunned Arquette for being handed the championship. The event made a mockery out of the sport, and Arquette’s life and career were greatly affected. David Darg’s and Price James’ documentary You Cannot Kill David Arquette finally gives the actor his redemption arc.
You Cannot Kill David Arquette chronicles Arquette’s journey to prove himself to the wrestling world. He acknowledges that winning the championship 20 years ago was a sign of disrespect and states that he didn’t even want to go along with the title win but felt pressured by WCW President Eric Bischoff and head writer Vince Russo. At the time, WCW was feuding with rival WWF and their show Monday Night Raw, each promotion producing crazier and crazier storylines in an effort to beat each other in ratings. Arquette became a casualty of the Monday Night Wars, leaving him to be ostracised from the world of professional wrestling. In one of the documentary’s interviews, wrestling icon Ric Flair is asked about Arquette’s title win. Flair states that he respects Arquette as a person but not as a wrestler.
At 46, David Arquette has lived a tough life. The documentary picks through every negative of his personal life: his divorce from Courtney Cox, his unusual upbringing on a commune, alcoholism and a myriad of health problems. Yet, for some reason, Arquette is still hung up on his wrestling banishment. Arquette’s family – including his wife Christina, siblings, including Patricia Arquette, and his children – can’t understand why he continues to be so obsessed with professional wrestling. But as he grows older, Arquette knows that the window to prove himself to the wrestling world is quickly closing. He decides to do the wrestling thing properly; You Cannot Kill David Arquette follows his journey from training with legend Diamond Dallas Page to wrestling on the independent circuit. He takes bumps, tries new gimmicks and goes on the road, just like every other aspiring wrestler.
You Cannot Kill David Arquette is as personal as biographical documentaries come. Arquette gives cameras a no-holds-barred look on his life. He openly talks about his lack of roles in Hollywood after the WCW incident. He takes the cameras with him to doctor’s appointments as they treat him with ketamine for his anxiety disorder. Cameras are there when doctors tell him that he is not cleared to wrestle because of his blood thinners – Arquette doesn’t listen. He becomes obsessed with finally righting his wrong and proving himself to the wrestling icons he grew up admiring. He never leverages his Hollywood status on his journey. He goes about training and getting on independent promotions just like any average person.
Arquette becomes consumed by the professional wrestling world. He constantly talks about legend Macho Man Randy Savage and his valet Miss Elizabeth. Arquette humiliates himself performing street wrestling with luchadores, he is busted open with steel chairs, thumbtacks and even almost gets killed yet, still, Arquette perseveres on his journey to become a respected professional wrestler. With the respect Arquette shows for the sport, it’s easy for wrestling fans to see that he is earnest in his efforts; people without the intricate knowledge of wrestling will think Arquette is nuts. But You Cannot Kill David Arquette isn’t for those people. The film is Arquette’s personal love letter to professional wrestling fans, it is his personal apology to wrestling legends and it is his personal journey to becoming a better man. You Cannot Kill David Arquette is a portrait of a man asking for forgiveness, it’s time that the wrestling world gives David Arquette another chance.