This year, the Toronto International Film Festival kicks off on September 4 and the Canadian movie event will be starting the festivities with the pride of the Great White North as the documentary John Candy: I Like Me will be the premiere film. Colin Hanks, whose father, Tom Hanks, famously starred alongside Candy in Splash, directs the John Candy Documentary with Ryan Reynolds on a producer. The doc includes a deep dive into home videos, hoping to tell the story behind the lovable comedian.
Deadline is reporting that the doc jump-starts the festival, which is set to run through September 14. Cameron Bailey, CEO of TIFF, said recently, “Comedy fans all over the world grew up on John Candy’s humor. We love that John’s global career started in Toronto, and we can’t wait to share John Candy: I Like Me with everyone at this year’s Opening Night Gala premiere. Colin Hanks has made a hugely entertaining film packed with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, but like John, this movie is all heart. For us, it’s the perfect way to kick off TIFF’s 50th edition.”
Hanks and Reynolds released a statement saying, “When you hear the name John Candy, your face lights up. He wasn’t just a great actor; he was an even better person. People loved his everyman qualities, but they didn’t know how relatable John really was. He went through the same struggles we all do, except now we talk about them. We are incredibly honored to have gotten to know the man better through this process and to bring the real John Candy to audiences starting with his hometown of Toronto.”
Reynolds says that as funny as Candy was, he was always vulnerable, and that’s what made us feel close to him. The documentary team tried to capture how desperately we need his brand of comedy again. He never punched down but brought people together. He used comedy as a bridge. Coming later this year, the documentary is a love letter to a national treasure.
The world lost John Candy in March 1994, suffering a heart attack while near the end of filming on what would be his first posthumously released movie, Wagons East. (Canadian Bacon would follow in 1995.) Candy’s career began in the 1970s, truly breaking out with sketch comedy show SCTV, the show which won him two Emmys for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program. From there, he had parts in comedy classics such as The Blues Brothers, Stripes and National Lampoon’s Vacation, easily becoming one of the most lovable presences on the big screen. The ‘80s would also find him in Summer Rental, Spaceballs, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, The Great Outdoors, and Uncle Buck, to name some of the most prominent.
The ‘90s would be all-too short for John Candy, but he continued with comedy most notably through Nothing But Trouble and Cool Runnings while also giving a truly stellar dramatic turn in Oliver Stone’s JFK.
