A unique and engrossing story of redemption told within the squared circle, You Cannot Kill David Arquette is an underdog story told with heart, grit, and a love for the art of professional wrestling.

Ask any fan of professional wrestling what the lowest moment in the history of the squared circle was, and many will point to actor David Arquette winning the WCW world championship in 1999. Arquette himself will say the same. Although known as an actor in films such as Scream and Ready to Rumble, Arquette found notoriety for his exploits in the squared circle that saw him crowned champ and hated by the wrestling community at large.

Curiously while Arquette’s film career has descended into B-movie hell, it was his brief wrestling career and the hatred that followed that still haunts him. Arquette loves professional wrestling. Now he wants it to love him back.

This sets up the journey of You Cannot Kill David Arquette, a documentary directed by David Darg and Price James that chronicles Arquette’s return to the wrestling ring through the gruelling independent circuit. While doing so an incredibly intimate portrait of Arquette is presented, with the Never Been Kissed star transparent in his alcoholism and mental health issues, not to mention his incredibly raw feeling towards being the butt of jokes amongst wrestling fan and professional alike.

When we first meet Arquette both his mental and physical state is a mess, so it was only natural that many, including his own family, would question his sanity, especially after Arquette is pummelled at an amateur backyard wrestling “show” that quickly certifies his place in the pro-wrestling pecking order. Never disgruntled, Arquette presses on in his quest, first visiting wrestling legend turned fitness guru Diamond Dallas Page, and then a trip to Mexico where he trains in the Lucha-libre style of wrestling. This includes a scene in which Arquette literally wrestles on the street as passing motorists look on.

When watching You Cannot Kill David Arquette two things are evident: the first is that despite the adage of “wrestling is fake”, it is still an incredibly physically demanding and even dangerous form of entertainment; the second is that despite his goofy presence and his clear limitation in age and fitness, Arquette proves to be an incredibly sympathetic figure that we can’t help but cheer on in his pursuit of chasing a dream while attempting to silence the nightmares of the past.

Darg and James capture the insanity and inspiration of a passion fulfilled no matter the obstacle, to make You Cannot Kill David Arquette one of 2021’s surprising feelgood movies of the year.