Title – John Candy: I Like Me (2025)

Director – Colin Hanks (All Things Must Pass)

Cast – John Candy, Bill Murray, Chris Candy, Jennifer Candy-Sullivan, Dan Aykroyd

Plot – Explores the life of beloved actor and comedian John Candy who took Hollywood and the world by storm in the 80’s before his untimely passing in the early 90s at the age of 43.

“This is a guy, who the minute you see his face, you’re gonna smile”

Review by Eddie on 23/02/2026

There wouldn’t be many people alive today who either lived through or grew up in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s who weren’t impacted in some way, shape or form by the iconic presence that was John Candy.

Backed by Ryan Reynolds and directed by son of Tom, Colin Hanks, John Candy: I Like Me is a lovingly crafted documentary that taps into the goodwill and fond memories that a mere picture of Candy might conjure up for a viewer and while it’s arguably slightly too surface level and quick moving to make a deeper impact or provide more context to certain elements of Candy’s far too short life, I Like Me still manages to be highly enjoyable and even emotionally powerful in its own way.

Enlisting Candy’s own family as well as a massive collection of famous colleagues and friends that includes the likes of Bill Murray, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Dany Aykroyd, Conan O’Brien and Martin Short, Hanks was able to tap into their own personal experiences and hours upon hours of private home footage collating I Like Me, allowing we the viewers to go on a multi-decade spanning look at Candy’s life from a quiet family man to a beloved world figure who conquered his medium.

It’s impossible not to connect with Hanks documentary when we get to explore the likes of National Lampoons Family Vacation, Uncle Buck, Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Home Alone, but a few of the iconic feature film offerings that Candy played major roles in, bringing to mind a collection of fond memories that may take us back to our childhoods, times with families or friends or simply reminders of the power of film/TV and those that make the magic happen.

It’s a shame Hanks wasn’t able to allow his film or himself to dig a little deeper into Candy’s life however as this feels like a very one-note affair that is about reminiscing a legend taken far too soon and while there are little snippets of the film taking a darker tone it feels like it’s teasing us more than anything about the dark side of Candy that clearly played a role in his topsy turvy personal life that is clearly on display in heartbreaking interviews and scenes we see of him leading up to his unfortunate passing.

The cream of the crop of documentaries aren’t afraid to present two sides to the story and I Like Me feels unarguably one-sided, a fantastic reminder and an affectionate showcase for a once in a lifetime performer/person but also one that never provides us with any new insight or revelations about a tormented soul who had another side we don’t get to delve into here.

Final Say –

A documentary that will no doubt have you (cool) running to your nearest John Candy DVD or searching your streaming service for a by-gone comedy classic, John Candy: I Like Me is a passionate reminder and memorial to a screen legend but one held back by its quick moving surface level approach.

3 1/2 parent teacher interviews out of 5