John Candy: I Like Me, on Prime Video

He was born on Halloween and played Dr. Tongue on SCTV’s late-night monster movie parodies. Unfortunately, SCTV is not currently streaming on any platform, so an entire generation of Gen-Z’ers have probably never seen it. However, they have surely seen Spaceballs and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, right? If not, they are in for a treat. There should be far more John Candy films for them to catch up with, but unfortunately, he left us too soon. Colin Hanks chronicles the actor’s life and work in the documentary, John Candy: I Like Me, which premieres this Friday on Prime Video.

As you would expect from films like Planes and Splash, there is a lot of humor and a lot of sadness in Hanks’ documentary. He had great success, as well as a good deal of insecurity. No matter how hard he tried, Hollywood often made Candy’s size the butt of their jokes. Casting directors even discouraged him from losing weight.

Nevertheless, he built a reputation for unusually sensitive comedic performances. Candy also appeared in a lot of dogs, out of misplaced loyalties. Nevertheless, he was a devoted husband and father. In fact, his surviving wife, son, and daughter all appear at length throughout I Like Me, without ever airing any dirty laundry. Frankly, the only interview subject who tries to dish any dirt would be Bill Murray, as part of a questionably conceived comedic bit.

As one would expect, Hanks had access to many of Candy’s friends and co-stars, obviously starting with his father Tom, who shared the screen with Candy in Splash, which is discussed at length, and Volunteers, which is excluded from his son’s doc (even though that is the film that brought the senior Hanks together with Rita Wilson). Regardless, the list of participants is quite impressive, including Murray (Stripes), Steve Martin (Planes), Dan Akroyd (1941, The Blues Brothers), Mel Brooks (director of Spaceballs), Martin Short (Really Weird Tales and a SCTV guest star), as well as a raft of his SCTV cronies, such as Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, and Dave Thomas.

Frankly, considering the importance of SCTV in Candy’s life, if any big streaming platform with considerable resources decides to showcase I Like Me in the future, they really ought to consider licensing SCTV too.

Be that as it may, Hanks nicely assembles a portrait of the private Candy, through formerly unseen home movies and photos, as well as the intimate recollections of those who knew him best. Of course, there are funny clips, but tone is consistently bittersweet rather than lighthearted. Yet, if you were a fan, there is much to appreciate. Ultimately, Hanks and company should inspire a good deal of Candy-bingeing, even the not-so-great movies. Highly recommended for the nostalgia and the 80s and 90s pop culture history, John Candy: I Like Me starts streaming this Friday (10/10) on Prime.