There Is A John Candy Documentary In the Works from Ryan Reynolds and Colin Hanks And They're Telling Us To "Expect Tears"
CoS- John Candy’s life will finally be immortalized in an authorized documentary from Ryan Reynolds and Colin Hanks.
Reynolds, a noted Canadian like Candy, confirmed the news on Twitter, announcing that Hanks was teaming with his production company Maximum Effort for the project. “Expect tears,” he warned.
A representative for Reynolds told People that the family of Candy, who passed away in 1994, was giving Maximum Effort access to the beloved comedian’s archive and home video footage. Confirming their authorization, Candy’s children spoke excitedly about the documentary on Twitter.
“Boom! So looking forward to working on this with them and our family. This project is in great hands,” his daughter, Jennifer Candy, said.
I have no idea who John Candy is, but the fact Ryan Reynolds and Colin Hanks (one of my favorite comedians going) are working on this project has me looking forward to learning about who he was.
That's a joke everybody. (Especially the Colin Hanks part. No offense to Colin Hanks of course.)
That's for everybody who crucified me for not realizing that Brendan Gleeson, who hosted Saturday Night Live this past weekend, was Hamish from Braveheart.
That's on me guys. 100%. I'm a fucking idiot for not realizing.
But out of my admitting that and getting roasted for my ignorance came something very positive. A handful of normal brained, level headed stoolies reached out to me and told me that I absolutely had to watch In Bruges, a movie I've honestly never heard of. It came so highly recommended that I downloaded it onto my computer and plan to watch it this weekend on a long plane trip I have. I'm really looking forward to it. So thank you.
But back to John Candy.
We were robbed, as a civilization, of John Candy. He passed away at the tender age of 43.
Candy embodied all the stereotypes we have of Canadians- he was kind, jovial, was obsessed with hockey, and had a wicked cocaine habit.
He got his start in the Toronto outfit of The Second City improv group. (The Chicago one was responsible for graduating pretty much everybody who was anybody in comedy in the 80s). His breakout role was in the 1984 film Splash, which he starred in along with Colin Hanks' father Tom.
He really blew up and became famous for his roles in Stripes with Bill Murray
Planes, Trains and Automobiles, with Steve Martin (a movie my mom used to watch all the time when I was little, and how I was introduced to Candy)
my personal favorites, The Great Outdoors, with Dan Akroyd,
Cool Runnings,
The Blues Brothers
and, Uncle Buck
Of course we all remember him as Gus Polinski, the Polka King of The Midwest, who saves the day in Home Alone
Candy ultimately died of a heart attack shortly after, in his sleep while filming Wagons East. For as gregarious and humorous as Candy was on screen, his personal life was matched by a pack-a-day smoking habit, toxic dietary habits, and the aforementioned cocaine addiction.
His children believe he tried his best to take care of himself, but that he was haunted by losing his own father at a very young age, and by having his dreams of becoming a professional football player dashed by a bad knee injury in high school.
According to Carl Reiner, who directed Candy in Summer Rental (1985), the comedian was overcome with a sense of fatalism. “He felt he had inherited in his genes a Damoclean sword,” he said, referencing the early death of Candy’s father. “So it didn’t matter what he did.”
His son, Chris, added how “he grew up with heart disease… His father had a heart attack, his brother had a heart attack. It was in the family. He had trainers and would work at whatever the new diet was. I know he did his best.”
But, as his brother-in-law, Frank Hober added, “It was always in the back of everyone’s mind. No one talked about it, but it was in the back of John’s mind too.”
A thing I learned over the years was that Candy was a selfless animal lover and generously contributed to numerous charities.
John Candy seemed like a great guy who left behind a ton of friends, and fans, and who was still in his prime. I'm really looking forward to learning more about the man and comedian he was in this doc.
p.s. - Suck My Wake