Festivals - Fantasia 2020 : You cannot Kill David Arquette, Canadian Premiere

By Mulder, 14 august 2020

At the age of 48, while recovering from a heart attack, David Arquette decides it's time to face the one thing that really haunts him: his career as a professional wrestler. You may know him for his role in theScream franchise and for being part of the famous Arquette family of actors (the Rosanna and Patricia sisters, the late Alexis, Father Lewis), but for millions of professional wrestling fans, it is the Hollywood actor who won the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) on April 25, 2000, without really deserving it, by beating Jeff Jarrett and Eric Bischoff, all orchestrated to promote the comedy Ready to rumble (2000). But David Arquette wasn't acting that night; he really loves professional wrestling and is determined to prove that he can be a real wrestler. So he embarks on the strangest of journeys, taking him from backyard matches in Mexico to a bloody fight with Nick Gage in Hollywood.

If you thought, looking at this year's programming, that one of the most emotional, heartfelt and crazy films of Fantasia 2020 would be a wrestling documentary starring a Hollywood actor, no one would have believed you, but You cannot Kill David Arquette, like the man himself, is here to prove his worth. Arquette's welcome return to the Fantasia festival (which was there in 2006 with his first feature film as director, The Tripper) is a cinematic roller coaster about a dreamer who doesn't give up, despite the pitfalls of age, health and self-doubt. It may not always be easy to watch, but it's never anything less than true, honest and always sincere, while often being hilarious, stunning and highly entertaining. Don't like wrestling? That's okay! You cannot Kill David Arquette, it's much more than that. It's the story of a man who is trying to rewrite his own history and be true to himself. And in this kind of project, you can't pretend.

You cannot Kill David Arquette
Directed by David Darg, Price James
Produced by Christina McLarty Arquette, Bryn Mooser, Stacey Souther, Chris Thompson
Starring Charlie Arquette, Coco Arquette, David Arquette, Gus Arquette, Patricia Arquette, Richmond Arquette, Rosanna Arquette, Courteney Cox, Diamond Dallas Page, Ric Flair, Jerry Lawler, Christina McLarty Arquette, Jack Perry, Luke Perry
Music by Matt Glass, Dimiter Yordanov
Cinematography David Darg, Price James
Edited by Paul Rogers
Release date : 28 August 2020 (USA)
Running time : 91mns

(Source : Fantasia 2020 official website)