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.
