You Cannot Kill David Arquette – An Emotionally Rewarding Documentary (Early Review)

It’s hard to think of another documentary in recent memory that was as exhilarating and electrifying as much as You Cannot Kill David Arquette.

Many of us have surely grown up with films like Scream. Meanwhile. films like See Spot Run and Eight Legged Freaks also played a major role in this reviewer’s childhood when they first came out. Also, I’m absolutely terrified of spiders, so I never thought of Eight Legged Freaks as a comedy until I was older and questioned myself, “why was I ever afraid of this?” And it’s all because of David Arquette. There was a brief time that I used to watch a lot of wrestling, and I’m friends with a lot of people who still actively watch wrestling. And during this entire documentary, I was thinking that they should watch the film. But the truth is, this film is for anyone. There’s a universality.

In 2000, Arquette appeared in Ready to Rumble and as a tie-in, he joined the World Championship Wrestling storylines. Eventually, he would even win the World Heavyweight Championship. At least that depends on who you ask. Most wrestling fans took it as a slap to the face, and an insult to the sport. To them, it seemed that it was one big publicity stunt, and while, yes it was, Arquette possesses a true love for the sport. You Cannot Kill David Arquette was a documentary that saw Darg and James follow Arquette as he tried to salvage his wrestling career, but also his own.

This film is a brutally honest look at a very vulnerable Arquette. Near the beginning of filming, he suffered a heart attack while during filming, he went on benders that saw him arguably drinking a bit more then he should. The film also covered his personal fight with crippling anxiety. At the start of his career, he was featured on the cover of Vanity Fair alongside other leading men who went on to big careers such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, and Will Smith. Some say that the one-two punch of Scream, and the previously mentioned films led the general audience to consider him solely as a comedic actor which therefore changed his career trajectory forever.

Viewers will find themselves surprised by the fact that You Cannot Kill David Arquette is certainly an emotional and emotionally rewarding film. As his wife Christina McLarty says, on one hand, she was happy that during this time, he was getting sober again, and he had lost weight, but he was seriously injuring his body. In order to start, he started fighting in backyard rings, and then went to Mexico and eventually even had a terrifyingly scary deathmatch with Nick Gage.

In the end, You Cannot Kill David Arquette is an emotional watch but it is also beautiful to watch him make a name for himself and earn the respect he rightfully deserves. But to also, see him have the confidence in himself.

still courtesy of Elevation Pictures

This review was originally posted as part of the Fantasia International Festival Festival coverage on my site, The UnderSCENE.

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Guest Writer