For a while now, we’ve known that famed Canadian Ryan Reynolds was producing a documentary celebrating John Candy’s life and legacy, with Colin Hanks serving as the director, and fans have been keeping eyes and ears out for all the Blues Brothers-infused updates as the project came together. Now, it’s finally locked in a 2025 release date for when fans will be able to stream it via Amazon Prime subscription, and both the streaming giant and Reynolds himself shared the first trailer, seen above.
By all means, it looks like this project was handled with all the compassion and grace one would hope and expect, given how universally beloved Candy was throughout his monumental, if shortened, comedy career. To that end, Ryan Reynolds posted the following message alongside the trailer on Instagram:
Love is not a big enough word.
Somebody pass me one of John's wigs or fake mustaches from "Who's Harry Crumb?" so I can sop up some of the tears welling in my eyes.
The trailer could have just been a long string of clips from Candy's movies and that probably would have still been enough to make it worthy of watching. But of course Hanks didn't stop there, and the producing team rounded up a ton of A-listers to talk about and honor the Spaceballs and Uncle Buck icon. Here's a shortlist of some of the famous funny faces that pop up in the trailer.
- Bill Murray
- Dave Thomas
- Catherine O'Hara
- Steve Martin
- Dan Aykroyd
- Conan O'Brien
- Macaulay Culkin
- Mel Brooks
- Martin Short
- Tom Hanks
It only makes sense that Tom Hanks would show up in a movie directed by his son, but that's obviously not the only reason. Hanks and Candy first co-starred in Ron Howard's smash hit 1984 comedy Splash, and then reteamed the next year for Nicholas Meyer's Volunteers.
Ahead of its highly anticipated streaming debut, John Candy: I Like Me will first get the honor of debuting at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) for its opening film. I'm eager to see how critics and general audiences react to the screening, and I expect nothing but emotional lauding.
Ryan Reynolds has never been shy about promoting his fandom of John Candy, and even used Deadpool and Wolverine to pay tribute to his classic holiday romp Planes, Traines, and Automobiles by mocking up the in-film book The Canadian Mounted and displaying it at certain times during the Marvel movie. It remains to be seen whether he'll show up on screen during the documentary, or if he kept his role limited to just behind the scenes.
John Candy: I Like Me will be available for fans around the world to stream on Friday, October 10.
