“I remember John Candy’s presence much more clearly than that of John Hughes,” Gaby Hoffmann told me during our interview in 2012, after I asked her about her memories of filming 1989’s “Uncle Buck” at the mere age of 7. “That movie was playing video games with Mac[auley Culkin] and rejoicing in the extraordinary loveliness of John Candy, who couldn’t have been sweeter or more comforting. He was incredibly loving and any sort of paternal-type figure has been a draw for me, having not grown up with a father. So I really fell in love with him.”
Clearly Hoffmann wasn’t alone, as evidenced by the wealth of touching reminiscences compiled by director Colin Hanks and producer Ryan Reynolds in their new documentary, “John Candy: I Like Me.” This past Sunday, Reynolds was joined onstage by Candy’s son, Chris, and special guest Jim Belushi at the Chicago Theatre for an early screening of the film, which will begin streaming on Prime this Friday, October 10th. Having the movie be shown at the historic venue was clearly meaningful for Chris, considering the number of pictures his father made in and around the Windy City.
In a post-film conversation moderated by critic Kevin McCarthy, Belushi recalled how Candy’s trailer while filming Chris Columbus’ 1991 gem, “Only the Lonely,” was located on Wabash Avenue right next to the theater. Screen icon Maureen O’Hara had come out of retirement to play Candy’s mother in the film, a star vehicle that enabled the beloved comedian to explore more poignant shades of his screen persona, with its plot of reminiscent of Paddy Chayefsky’s “Marty.” During a talk show appearance excerpted in the documentary, O’Hara praised her co-star by likening him to Charles Laughton. According to Belushi, when Candy saw that O’Hara was being given a smaller trailer, he insisted that she be moved into his instead, leaving him to stay in a cramped Honeywagon.
Candy’s innate generosity was part of what made him such a brilliant performer. His training at Second City cemented for him that each actor’s job was to make the other person in their scene look good. He encouraged Belushi to seek out “the weak ones and make them strong,” and proved to be just as skilled at actively listening as he was in riffing. Reunited with a different O’Hara—his longtime “SCTV” co-star and fellow comic genius, Catherine—during his day of filming on Columbus’ 1990 classic, “Home Alone,” Candy improvised a scene with her in the back of a truck where he calmly unspools a story that becomes more outrageous with every word. What makes the scene doubly hilarious are O’Hara’s largely wordless responses, and while watching the priceless alternate takes showcased in the documentary, I was struck by how the actress was giving back the gift of listening that Candy gave to so many of his co-stars.
Though a slew of shockingly insensitive journalists take Candy to task in archival footage for his alleged string of bad films, it’s worth noting just how many splendid ones he made throughout his career. In addition to the titles previously mentioned, “The Blues Brothers,” “Stripes,” “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” “Splash,” “Follow That Bird,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Spaceballs,” “The Rescuers Down Under,” “JFK,” “Rookie of the Year” and “Cool Runnings” all come to mind, though his greatest work is unquestionably in John Hughes’ 1987 masterpiece, “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” The late director’s son James was in attendance as Reynolds discussed the impact that the mismatched buddy comedy had on him, which can be seen all throughout his 2024 hit, “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Candy’s heartfelt monologue, in which he affirms his own value in the face of unfeeling criticism, inspired the documentary’s title, while the movie’s ending song, “Everytime You Go Away,” is given a soulful rendition by Cynthia Erivo.
Candy’s passing at age 43 just weeks before my eighth birthday was the first death that caused me to become deeply aware of my own mortality. I couldn’t believe how someone so full of warmth and good cheer could suddenly be taken so young. Yet in a way, it made me less scared of death because I figured, what could be better than spending all of eternity hanging with John Candy in the clouds? Catherine O’Hara reveals in the documentary that soon after Candy’s death, she dreamt that they were cracking jokes together and making each other laugh like old times. Eventually, O’Hara asked him, “Why’d you have to die?”, causing Candy’s smile to fade as he sighed, “Why’d you have to bring that up?”
Among the most moving aspects of “John Candy: I Like Me” is how it portrays the actor’s heightened awareness that he was, as his “Splash” co-star Tom Hanks puts it, living on borrowed time. On Candy’s fifth birthday, his father died of a heart attack at only 35. Like many people who become faced with the fragility of life at too young an age, Candy sought to make the most of the years he was granted. In doing so, he became the embodiment of the father he wished he had, not only to his own children, but to those he worked with—such as Gaby Hoffmann and Macauley Culkin—and the countless viewers, including yours truly, whom he will continue to entertain and uplift for generations to come.
This is a wonderful tribute to a man who exuded all the qualities—kindness, empathy, selflessness—that we are in desperate need of during these darkest of days in our city and country. Thank you Ryan, Chris, Jim and the whole documentary team for letting us bask in Candy’s light for three glorious hours on a Sunday evening, the proceeds from which benefited St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Let us each find a way to keep his spirit alive in the days ahead.
