David Arquette is an actor most famous for his role as Dewey in the Scream franchise, as well as being the ex-husband of Friends star, Courtney Cox. He’s also a keen fan of wrestling, a passion that led him to star in Beyond the Mat. For the promotion of the movie, Arquette was introduced into the real-life wrestling world of WCW, and in a huge shocker, actually managed to snag the heavyweight title belt. His win is seen as one of the most contentious in the sport’s history, and there has been ill-will between the fans and Arquette for years. New documentary, You Cannot Kill David Arquette, follows the actor as he attempts to prove his worth in the wrestling arena once and for all as he begins training and competing.
You Cannot Kill David Arquette is an incredibly intimate documentary, with Arquette granting access to all areas of his life. The cameras follow him to the doctors for his medical assessments and even interview some of his physicians. The crew is granted access to the Arquette homestead with footage of David at home interacting with his children. Even those outside of his immediate household grant the filmmaking team access, and the documentary features discussions with his sisters Rosanna and Patricia Arquette as well as ex-wife Courtney Cox. The team is there at every step of Arquette’s journey, even when he sustains a life-threatening injury the cameras are still permitted to roll. This close interaction and unprecedented access allows the viewer to fully connect with Arquette, offering a glimpse into the man behind the persona.
The story itself is a study of one man’s determination to reclaim his honour, but also to pay proper respect to the wrestling world, which Arquette worships. It is made clear very early on that Arquette himself wasn’t happy with the way his WCW win went down, it genuinely being one of his biggest regrets of his career. As a fan, he’s all too aware of how winning the belt without any real flair or technique for the sport comes across as disrespectful. Through the course of the documentary we witness him shift perceptions and it’s clear that he’s very committed to proving his worth. He genuinely puts the work in and, as the documentary progresses, you can see both his physical and psychological changes.
Emotionally, You Cannot Kill David Arquette puts the viewer through the wringer. As in any good fictional underdog sports story, the documentary is filled with highs and lows. There’s plenty of humour – Arquette being a perpetual clown – but also warmth from the familial bonds. Most unexpectedly are the moments of fear brought on by a rather harrowing accident, one that proves that wrestling isn’t quite as fake as people may believe it to be.
The respect to the sport that Arquette loves so much is evident from the outset, and if he achieves nothing as a wrestler in training, this documentary wonderfully highlights the hard work that goes into being a wrestling star. Glimpses of pre-match discussions reveal just how intricately planned the fights are and the amount of information and ‘choreography’ that professional wrestlers have to commit to memory is insane. Lesser projects may have sought to poke fun at a group of men prancing around in their pants, but You Cannot Kill David Arquette approaches it as the entertainment sport that it is.
Playing as a mixture of a ‘history of wrestling’, the journey of an underdog, and a portrait of an intriguing and at times enigmatic public figure, You Cannot Kill David Arquette offers plenty of information to pick through. Fans of wrestling will be treated to appearances from some familiar wrestling faces, whereas fans of Arquette himself get a peek behind the curtain. The range of topics explored opens the film up from just the wrestling crowd, or fans of Arquette. Even if you’re not that familiar with either, you can sit back and enjoy the documentary as a character study of a determined man.
Blue Finch Film Releasing presents You Cannot Kill David Arquette on Digital Download 23 November.
You Cannot Kill David Arquette
Summary
Intimate, passionate, and unexpectedly harrowing in places, You Cannot Kill David Arquette offers a peek behind the curtain to both an enigmatic man and a commonly misunderstood sport.
