By Jason Guyer
By Jason Guyer
David Arquette, the most hated man in wrestling, is back and ready to win the hearts of himself and fans. He sure won mine with “You Cannot Kill David Arquette.”
However, let me say this first. Wrestling is most certainly a way of life for wrestlers and for fans. It is real and it is beloved.
Some experiences in life are just simply fun and backyard wrestling with my brothers was a life experience I would not trade.
There is just nothing like flying through the air with your elbow outstretched or leg extended ready to drop on an opponent on the mat, especially your brother.
I do not condone doing so because you can get injured and it can be painful. I have firsthand knowledge of this.
A flying headbutt onto sheet metal laying on top of your brother (or wrestling doll after we got in trouble) can hurt more than one may think. Although it clearly sounds painful.
There was a time somewhere around 1998 or 1999, where if anyone entered my childhood home, one would most likely see my brothers pulling high flying wrestling maneuvers.
We journeyed into hardcore matches every now and then. One highlight was busting window shutters over each other’s heads.
However, our specialty was high flying maneuvers. My favorite was not from the top belt but from the top of a tree in our yard.
These moments give me a fond memory of the wrestling phase of my childhood.
I eventually grew out of backyard wrestling and watching wrestling, especially in the 2000’s as wrestling declined heavily from the product it produced in the 90’s.
At one point in time though I really did enjoy wrestling.
The movie industry rarely crosses into the wrestling arena. The more popular option is for wrestlers to cross into the film industry. The obvious would be The Rock and John Cena.
There have only been a handful who crossed the other way. Actors who became wrestlers.
One of the biggest of those moments came on April 26, 2000.
This is the moment David Arquette won the WCW World Heavyweight title. This is one of the most hated moments in wrestling history.
At this moment I felt bad for David Arquette. I may have been young in the year 2000 but I understood the social dynamics of outsiders.
For those in wrestling David Arquette was an outsider and while wrestlers understood growing the brand and the need for the entertainment side of wrestling.
The Heavyweight title was and is sacred to wrestlers.
David Arquette winning was on par with Judas selling out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
In 2000, even I knew the hatred Arquette was going to get and yet, I was surprised at the level of hatred he received.
Those who hated the heavyweight title defense also hated his wrestling film, “Ready to Rumble.”
“Ready to Rumble” is a film from the year 2000 and the promotional vehicle that led him to the ring to win the WCW World Heavyweight title.
Opposite Arquette in “Ready to Rumble” was Scott Caan.
There is a lightness to “Ready to Rumble” that I particularly enjoy that reminds me of the days of backyard wrestling.
In another universe there is a scenario where my brothers and I ended up like Gordie and Shawn from “Ready to Rumble.”
“Ready to Rumble” was not well received and did not do well at the box office. It may be a cult hit now but like many films before it, “Ready to Rumble” was essentially a career killer for Arquette.
There is something David Arquette has to prove about this time in his life and he aims to do it in “You Cannot Kill David Arquette.”
Now in the year 2020, David Arquette looks to prove himself to all the haters who hated what Arquette calls, “One of the greatest moments of his life.”
The recently released documentary “You Cannot Kill David Arquette” is David’s finest performance in what would be considered a B level career.
The irony is, David’s best and most interesting and career defining role is the role of David Arquette.
There are many who will only remember Arquette for his role as Dewey Riley in the “Scream” franchise.
I personally hope that the bafoonish Dewey role memory gets usurped by David as David in “You Cannot Kill David Arquette.”
“You Cannot Kill David Arquette” is a raw in depth look into David Arquette’s return to the wrestling ring.
The catch this time is that he is not relying on his fame. David’s return to the ring happens from the bottom up, not the top down like he did in 2000 with his title win.
David seeks to retroactively earn his World title.
The problem, David Arquette is 48 years old. This is also a post heart attack David Arquette.
In 2019/2020 David Arquette literally put his life on the line to earn the respect of a moment he sees as a high point of his life.
“You Cannot Kill David Arquette” is an honest and raw look into Arquette’s wrestling goals and how that one moment in WCW history shaped and affected his life.
In one of the most tense moments of the documentary Arquette gets a severe and life threatening injury in a wrestling match.
In what many may consider champion form, Arquette finishes the match and puts more on the line than should be in a wrestling match.
Right there, in my eyes, he earned the true distinction of being a WCW World heavyweight champion.
This would be an opinion or conclusion one should come to on their own after watching “You Cannot Kill David Arquette.”
There are real tough moments in “You Cannot Kill David Arquette.” When he goes to a backyard match and they basically just beat him up for thinking he is a “real” wrestler.
There are sweet and tender moments. These usually come in the form of his family and how they feel about David and the experience he is putting himself through.
The beautiful part of the film and the part I enjoyed watching the most was the self acceptance and inner peace David finds through his wrestling experience.
The ability to take a moment the world sees as a scam or undeserving and shameful, to take a moment like that in your life and to reclaim it and make it a great moment in your life simply because for you it is a great moment.
This is something that anyone can learn from and be inspired by.
David Arquette quit drinking and looked to reclaim his life and reclaim it how he wanted and he saw fit to.
The documentary shows pieces and clips clip after clip of regular people disparaging him and of podcast personalities such as Joe Rogan making fun of his wrestling return.
In David Arquette’s own words in the documentary “You Cannot Kill David Arquette,” he says, “ I do understand why people got upset but I have always wanted to jump in the ring.”
These were his heroes and he respected them. He loved and is still in love with wrestling.
“It’s just one more time I have to prove myself.” Well he proved that and then some and the ending of “You Cannot Kill David Arquette” will prove that.
This is what this documentary encapsulates but at its heart it feels like David Arquette finding himself, finding David Arquette.
David Arquette set out to prove to himself and the world that he deserved “the greatest moment of his life” and did.
The real story in “You Cannot Kill David Arquette” is not about the moment it is about David Arquette and what he wanted to accomplish and learn, plus It is right there in the title.
No matter what happens at the end of the day “You Cannot Kill David Arquette.”
IRATE SCORE: 4/5
Jason Guyer is an avid moviegoer and works in the graphics department at the Eagle Times. For questions or comments he can be emailed at [email protected].
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