John Candy: I Like Me is a heartfelt, loving tribute to an actor who never got their proper due. A legendary comedic (and dramatic) talent who passed away far too young, John Candy was rarely asked about his process or what went into crafting many of his most iconic characters. Performers known for being funny aren’t often asked such questions, and since Candy is no longer able to grant interviews and insights, Colin Hanks’ documentary about the man can only rely on archival footage and the recollection of friends and family to speak to his dedication, generosity, and craft. John Candy: I Like Me remembers a Canadian titan as peer and friend to many, an icon to others, and someone who always looked out for the best interests of those around him.
Hanks (All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records) frames John Candy: I Like Me as a long overdue tribute show, not breaking the celebrity documentary biopic mold, but also never making any missteps. It starts with the obvious end: Candy’s death in March of 1994 while on the set of the subpar comedy Wagons East!. Then it goes back to look over the timeline of Candy’s life and the formative moments that shaped it: the death of his father at the age of 5, meeting his wife on a blind date, starting out in children’s theatre (alongside Dan Aykroyd, who offers the film’s poetic, moving opening eulogy) before landing a role in the landmark Toronto production of Godspell. Then came SCTV, his big screen debut in Steven Spielberg’s 1941, Splash, Stripes, and Candy’s close working relationship with writer-director John Hughes, who gave the actor his finest on-screen role in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, the best Thanksgiving movie ever made and the film which gives Hanks’ film its title via one of the finest moments in the history of the medium. Candy was also notably an out and proud Canadian, who helped restore some glory to the Toronto Argonauts football team and was heralded in America as a major movie star.
His generosity and Canadian pride led to many giving him the nickname “Johnny Toronto.” Candy had the keys to the city without needing any kind of formal ceremony for it. He was quick to pick up the tab and the last one to leave a party, making sure that everyone there had a moment of his time. Co-Stars like Tom Hanks and Bill Murray grant Colin Hanks and producer Ryan Reynolds (who conducts a few of the interviews) speak to Candy’s generosity as a performer and how it reflected similarly behind the scenes, even when the actor was tasked with doing things that were degrading or beneath him. Uncle Buck co-star Macaulay Culkin speaks to how how Candy treated and valued young performers, often asking them if they were doing okay and how things were going. Candy loved life, and no matter what he was doing, he gave everything he had mentally and physically.
But as John Candy: I Like Me is quick to point out, the way the public perceived the actor and how his inner circle and family saw him were often different things. Like many known primarily for comedy, Candy was seen as a happy-go-lucky clown that was quick with a joke or bit of self-deprecating humour. Interviewers often singled out Candy for his girth and stature as a larger man, making his weight a talking point, sometimes with a shocking amount of open cruelty masked as “banter.” Hanks happens upon a lot of archival interviews where Candy is consistently confronted with these barbs, and all the actor can really do is smile and shrug it off. This resulted in Candy absorbing and hanging onto a lot of internal pain and sadness that rarely got released on screen or behind the scenes. Candy’s later years were often plagued with self-doubt and projects that helped sustain the machine that had been built around his career more than taking part in things that were creatively fulfilling.
Most of John Candy: I Like Me is light and airy, a nice reflection of who Hanks’ subject was as a human being and the films he produced, but not the kind of thing that’s challenging for a viewer. This isn’t that kind of documentary. It’s wholly designed to give someone their flowers, and a talent like Candy’s certainly deserves that. But there is a pronounced darkness in the film when it comes to examining how Candy was treated by those who didn’t know him well, and Hanks lets the home movies, archival interviews, and recollections tell the sadder part of the story with a great deal of empathy and without any force. Like Candy’s brief, but impactful career, the film makes an impact by moving the viewer to laughter and tears.
John Candy: I Like Me streams on Prime Video starting Friday, October 10, 2025. It screened as the opening night film of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
