Colin Hanks makes an intelligent move to John Candy: I Like Me. He opens the film with an unusually introspective and emotional Bill Murray talking about his late friend. Bill talks about John’s enormous generosity, his kind-heartedness, and fierce loyalty to those he held dear, almost tearing up at a point. Then, in typical Murray fashion, he bemoans that it won’t be a decent documentary because no one will have a bad word to say about Candy, and then proceeds to create one. It’s a perfect setup for a film that both takes its subject seriously and with the level of sardonic wit that would befit a man of the stature of Candy.
The film traces the breadth of his career, from his early days in Toronto, becoming friends with other like-minded individuals, through to the launch of Second City in Toronto. Comprising the majority of that first Second City class are members of Toronto’s infamous cast of Godspell in 1972, itself celebrated in a documentary at TIFF this year, and two newcomers who were green as Murray and Candy. Utilizing mountains of footage of Candy and a plethora of famous faces reminiscing through interviews, we progress through SCTV, his launch into films, his relationship with collaborator John Hughes, and more.
All through the film, though, one thing lingers. His deep devotion to his family, and the haunting of his late father, who died at 35 and whose passing convinced John he was doomed to die young in a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- Rated: PG-13
- Genre: Documentary
- Release Date: 9/4/2025
- Directed by: Colin Hanks
- Starring: Bill Murray, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Candy, Conan O'Brien, Dan Aykroyd, Dave Thomas, Eugene Levy, Jennifer Candy, John Candy, Macaulay Culkin, Martin Short, Mel Brooks, Rosemary Hobor, Steve Martin, Tom Hanks
- Produced by: Colin Hanks, George Dewey, Glen Zipper, Johnny Pariseau, Ryan Reynolds, Sean Stuart, Shane Reid
- Studio: Amazon MGM Studios, Company Name, Maximum Effort
