Going into the documentary/autobiography/redemption story of David Arquette, I took into it with me some a basic knowledge of who he was and what he means or meant to the pro-wrestling business.
For the most part, I enjoyed "You Cannot Kill David Arquette," directed by David Darg & Price James, and released by Super LTD. I enjoyed getting Arquettes perspective on that surreal moment in time.
I think the movie itself was trying to be too "art house," at times - when the story itself, a story that only pro wrestling could create, is art enough.
The unfair and unfortunate truth to the Arquette wrestling mythos is this: It didn't matter the celebrity, World Championship Wrestling was a fucking albatross of a company when Arquette was put in the unenviable position he was.
And that sucks for a dude who at the very core is a tortured soul. And I empathize with him. Arquette struggles with anxiety. I know, I know ... it seems like everyone does these days, right?
But in 2000, when Arquette was arguably at the peak of his career, anxiety wasn't a word that was thrown around as it is today. Hell, I don't think I'd even heard the word anxiety as it's used today.
He grew up in a family of famous, beautiful people - and he was ... an awkward boy. Drugs and alcohol masking the turmoil inside his mind and body that wouldn't let him rest didn't help for sound decisions.
I think it's unfair that Arquette gets the hate he does within the wrestling community. Sure, he was a horrible champion but at that point the title wasn't worth a damn to begin with.
Arquette seems lonely - around people, away from them, with himself. He is seeking a validation that doesn't exist - you can't go back to 2000. And yet he will never be able to move on from it. And the sad thing is, we've accepted him today. We can see his love coming through - I'm just not sure that'll ever be enough for Arquette.
Oh yeah, he almost died in the ring. But that's a story for a different day.