Before The Bell

REVIEWS

YOU CANNOT KILL DAVID ARQUETTE

For far too long, fans have regarded David Arquette’s 2000 run as WCW World champion as one of the lowest in-ring moments in the history of professional wrestling. Unfortunately, Arquette himself has internalized this trope as a personal scourge, allowing the criticism and hateful rhetoric of fans and industry insiders to determine his own happiness and self-worth. For Arquette, redemption felt long beyond reach. But, when things came full circle for him in 2019, filmmakers David Darg and Price James were on hand to chronicle it all via the documentary You Cannot Kill David Arquette.

Darg and James start from the ugly beginning, recounting Arquette’s estrangement from the acting business, his struggles with substance abuse, and his failed first marriage. What emerges through the prevailing narrative is an image of a man who has struggled greatly, sometimes because of his own unfortunate choices but also because of matters beyond his control, including a tumultuous childhood and his de facto ouster from his chosen profession. reveals Arquette’s battle against his own demons with the help of behavioral health interventions, the support of family and friends, and some unlikely allies (including a troop of misfit backyard grapplers).