John Candy’s singular film career is a testament to his ability to balance over-the-top humor with sincere human emotions. It’s why a film like “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” can pivot from broad comedy into holiday sentimentality in its third act without missing a beat — and why Candy himself made for a perfect documentary subject.
During an appearance on the editors panel at IndieWire’s Craft Roundtables, “John Candy: I Like Me” editor Shane Reid explained the way he approached Colin Hanks’ documentary, which opened the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival before streaming on Prime Video. In Reid’s mind, he wasn’t just trying to document Candy’s life and film career. His goal was to actively add to Candy’s filmography, taking audiences on another bittersweet, hilarious journey that could stand up to the actor’s best films.
“The mold that we tried to follow was that we wanted it to feel like a John Candy film at the end of the day. So you wanted it to balance the humor, the charm. The minute it gets to saccharine you can cut back to John in a scene from ‘Stripes’ and level the audience back out,” Reid said. “It was a very careful balance of keeping it light, keeping it heavy, and then allowing you to also feel like you’re on the ride of a John film like ‘Planes, Trains, and Automobiles’ that carries you through all of those emotions.”
This conversation is presented in partnership with Prime Video.
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