The life and legacy of John Candy is at the center of a new Prime Video documentary, John Candy: I Like Me. Directed by Colin Hanks and produced by Ryan Reynolds, the film takes an intimate look at the beloved Canadian comedian.
Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September before its global release on October 10, the documentary features rare home footage, personal stories from Candy’s family, and reflections from Hollywood peers including Steve Martin, Catherine O’Hara, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray.
Together, the pieces reveal the man behind Uncle Buck, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and Cool Runnings — not just the star who made audiences laugh, but a father, husband, and friend navigating deep personal challenges.
Candy died of a heart attack in 1994 at just 43. In the film, his children, Christopher Candy and Jennifer Candy-Sullivan, along with his wife, Rosemary Margaret Hobor, serve as co-producers.
Their perspective highlights how Candy’s humor was often rooted in coping mechanisms formed after the death of his own father when he was just five years old. Hanks explained that this discovery shaped the heart of the documentary.
At a screening in Brooklyn earlier this month, Hanks told People what stood out to him most in telling Candy’s story. “Once I found out that John’s father had died when he was 5, I said, ‘Okay, that’s something that never leaves you. That’s something that he wrestled with for his entire life,’” he recalled.
The director added that through conversations with Candy’s son, he learned the comedian had only just begun exploring therapy before his untimely passing.
That revelation sparked a larger point for Hanks: “White men in their 40s — they should all be doing therapy,” he said, noting that this period of life is often when unresolved struggles rise to the surface.
For Hanks, the insight connected directly to the public image Candy carried throughout his career. “That outgoing, genuine, gregarious, caring individual — that’s all coping,” he explained. “That’s how he was raised.”