Since this is my first time reviewing a documentary, I do have to preface it by saying I normally don’t watch, or even like, documentaries. That being said, John Candy: I Like Me is a touching, hilarious, and somber look at the life of an all time great human. As most documentaries do, this contains talking heads and old footage, and it does those aspects about as well as anyone else. It was definitely helpful that this included some all time great actors, who also happened to be friends, to distract you from some inconsistent story telling.

As a long time movie fan who wasn’t too familiar with Candy’s human career, or film career really, this is about as informational as it gets. There’s so much to be learned about the short life of Candy, without getting too deep in the woods. It gracefully touches on his family life and it was so sweet to see said family telling stories from their own experiences. He was not only a comedian, but a family man with a tragic past that he wasn’t trying to repeat.

Being that movie fan, I was elated every time an old co-star of Johns came on screen. Whether it was Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, or Catherine O’Hara, every word out of their mouths showed his true character and that he had chemistry with everyone he ever encountered. So much old footage brags about his grand and joyful presence. That footage also showed how much weight he carried, literally and physically. Seeing all this footage felt like a constant slap in the face because of its emotional abundance, for the first time a slap in the face wasn’t a bad thing. It made you feel like you were living through his personal emotions throughout his limited career and life.

I loved seeing all the locations of movie sets he was on, his at home videos, and old interviews with Candy himself. At points it felt like these were all stories that I could have looked up on my own, but it was nice to see them all in one convenient place. His craft was perfect and this had me itching at the bit to go back for multiple watches of movies I missed. John Candy was truly one of a kind and they do him enough justice with this doc. Have your tissues ready.

7/10