John Candy: I Like Me

I loved John Candy growing up, and it seems like everyone else did that grew up in the 80s. When I saw this movie hit Amazon Prime, I went and rewatched Uncle Buck as a warm-up to get in the right mindset.

Although Uncle Buck didn’t hold up as well for me as I hoped, this movie met all of my expectations. I don’t know what the ceiling is for a biography on a dead celebrity, but this one came pretty close for me. It used a ton of clips from his life to remind me of why he was such a legend, as well as getting a huge list of celebrities to comment on what he meant to them. I’d watch just about anything with a cast this good – Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Mel Brooks, Tom Hanks, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Conan O’Brien, and Macaulay Culkin for starters. Colin Hanks does an excellent job of editing these interviews to keep the focus on Candy, and not the assortment of other legends he managed to assemble.

Hanks makes the great choice to focus heavily on interviews with Candy’s family. As much as it must be difficult to cut scenes with the names mentioned above, we hear more from Candy’s wife and children than anyone else. It gives a great perspective on the sides of Candy we didn’t see in his movies, and how his kids feel about him today.

I give this one an 8. It’s a great biography.