Ryan Reynolds & Colin Hanks Teamed Up To Honor One Of The Best Actors We Lost Too Soon

John Belushi. Gilda Radner. Phil Hartman. Chris Farley. John Candy. Robin Williams. These are just some of the comedic geniuses we lost far too soon. Several of these bright lights of hilarity have been honored in the form of various documentaries and retrospectives honoring the memorable work they did before passing away. But now, it's John Candy's turn.

This fall sees the release of a documentary produced by fellow Canadian star Ryan Reynolds and directed by "Orange County" and "The Offer" actor Colin Hanks, who has a unique relationship with the "Uncle Buck" and "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" star thanks to his father Tom Hanks' big screen history with the comedy legend. 

The film is called "John Candy: I Like Me," referring to one of Candy's most heartfelt and memorable lines from the aforementioned holiday classic, which was written and directed by John Hughes and co-starred Steve Martin. As you'll see in the trailer (which you can watch above), everyone seemed to like John Candy. From Bill Murray to Catherine O'Hara to Steve Martin, everyone who worked with him has something nice to say. But as the trailer hints, there was a tragic sadness behind Candy's jovial and delightful personality.

Even so, the legacy Candy leaves behind is an interesting one. Despite dying at 43 years old in 1994, Candy isn't frequently remembered in the same way that John Belushi and Chris Farley were, both occupying a similar comedic space in the public eye and both having died from drug overdoses in their 30s. Meanwhile, Candy died of a heart attack, something he suspected would happen sooner than later, having lost his father to the same tragedy when he was just five years old. But as we'll soon see, Candy's legacy deserves to be equally celebrated.

In a recent interview with IndieWire, Hanks expressed his hesitation to make the film because of his personal relationship to Candy as a child, which began on the movie "Splash," starring his father Tom Hanks. The younger Hanks recalled his initial thought:

"I met him, I have these memories of him, I don't know if I want to dig into that. I'd much rather just have those memories as opposed to spend however many months or years of my life now collecting other people's memories and going from there."

But it was the encouragement from John Candy's now-adult children, Chris and Jen, that finally pushed him to make the film. Hanks said:

"I don't want to put words in their mouth, but they let it be known that it was their opinion that they felt like I was one of the only guys that can do it. Then that just made me go like, OK, well, let's set myself aside here and do some digging."

Combine that with Ryan Reynolds getting involved as a producer and telling Hanks he should direct it, and here we are with what looks to be a touching, honest, and lovely documentary about John Candy, featuring wonderful memories, anecdotes, and more from those who were lucky enough to be part of the limited time he had on the planet.

"John Candy: I Like Me" is playing at the Toronto International Film Festival this week as the opening night film, but audiences will be able to see it soon enough, with a release date set for October 10, 2025 on Prime Video.