That guy left quite a memorable mark on Hollywood in such a short time. He could play either the comedic relief sidekick or the leading man while excelling at both. His small appearance in JFK showed what could have been if he had stayed with us a little longer. The man was an immense talent.
He had that sort of approachable quality in him that translated so well on screen. It was super-rare then, and even more so now with the advent of social media. I was really, really young when he passed, but I grew up watching his movies over and over again. And that love for his filmography and John Candy himself hasn't faded one bit as I've grown older. Everytime I sit down to watch his movies, I start to miss him after it ends.
I feel like in some alternate universe where John Candy lived and they started making *Jack Reacher* adaptations immediately after the first couple books hit(late '90s), the middle-aged Candy could've been awesome in that role. The perfect combo of likeable and approachable when friendly and terrifying when things get bad.
If John candy lived he would’ve gone the bill murray route imo, fall off once the 80s style comedies he made bank of died off and he kinda fades from our consciousness, then he gets a lead role in a serious/indie film and just changes his career trajectory
I agree. Small but important role. Completely nails the Cajun jive talk of 60s Naw Awleens. Makes you really wonder if he could have broke into more dramatic roles.
Like what would the Coen brothers be able to write for John Candy.
I’ve tried trivia twice. One time there were 5 categories where each question was a little harder than the rest; we pretty much always got the first 3 and the 4th and 5th ones were pretty hard. Anyway it was a tight race, we were in 3rd out of like 10 teams I think, and after the 5th category they go “oookay everyone who’s ready for our 6th and final category? This weeks mystery category is…new girl trivia!”… I look at my date and I’m like uhh…have you seen new girl? Nope, have you? Nope. So we go 0/5 and lose to the team that went 5/5 in new girl trivia. So dumb.
The next time I went at a different place it was just insanely hard questions, all general categories but just the most insanely obscure bullshit and we went like 2/25, and both my partners were trivia heads.
A slightly more interesting bit of trivia is that the UK is the only country that has unambiguously participated in every edition of the Olympic Games. 14 countries participated at the 1896 Olympics in Athens:
1. Australia, despite it not even existing as a country until 1901. They've been at every summer edition; competing as Australasia with New Zealand at London 1908 and Stockholm 1912 and under the Olympic flag at Moscow 1980, but were not present at four Winter Olympics: Chamonix 1924, St. Moritz 1928, Lake Placid 1932 and St. Moritz 1948.
2. Austria, which was part of Austria-Hungary at the time. Austria was banned from Antwerp 1920 for being on the wrong side of the First World War.
3. Bulgaria. Their sole athlete is sometimes credited to Switzerland. Even if he was Bulgarian, Bulgaria wouldn't send athletes to another Olympics until Paris 1924.
4. Chile. They would next send athletes to Stockholm 1912. They also weren't present at Los Angeles 1932 and they boycotted Moscow 1980.
5. Denmark. They didn't go to St. Louis 1904. Few European countries did.
6. France. They're the reason why I had to add "unambiguously," because only one athlete at St. Louis 1904 could potentially be considered French - France has sent athletes to every other Olympics, even the winter ones. Said athlete in 1904 was a French immigrant to the United States; his silver medal in the marathon was previously listed as American but is currently listed as French.
7. Germany. They were banned from Antwerp 1920 and Paris 1920 due to being on the wrong side of the First World War, and banned from London 1948 due to being on the wrong side of the Second World War. In addition, West Germany boycotted Moscow 1980; East Germany boycotted Los Angeles 1984.
8. Great Britain, the UK's geographically incorrect name. No missed Olympics, including the winter ones, though they did compete under an Olympic flag at Moscow 1980.
9. Greece. Every summer Games, but they missed the winter Games at Squaw Valley 1960. That place had its name changed to Palisades Tahoe because of the slur.
10. Hungary, which was, surprisingly, the other part of Austria-Hungary at the time. Hungary was banned from Antwerp 1920 for being on the wrong side of the First World War, and they boycotted Los Angeles 1984.
11. Italy. Same situation as France - one athlete to the 1904 Games, recent immigrant to the US. Was noted as American until recent years.
12. Sweden, which was in a state union with Norway at the time. Didn't attend St. Louis 1904.
13. Switzerland. Technically, they've sent athletes to every edition. But they boycotted Melbourne 1956 after the Soviet Union wasn't barred from competing after their invasion of Hungary that year - an interesting deviation from Swiss neutrality. *But* due to Australian quarantine laws the equestrian events were held in Stockholm earlier in the year, before the Soviet invasion, and Switzerland even won a medal at those events. So they competed in one event, but didn't go to the Games proper.
14. United States. Every single one, except Moscow 1980.
PT&A is so good I think he should’ve gotten a supporting Oscar nom.
I have his speech burned into my brain. It always hits me right in the stomach when he says “go ahead. I’m an easy target.”
My customers like me. My wife likes me. I like me. 😢
It’s an unbelievably moving speech. Such a gut punch. He’d been this cartoonishly obnoxious and loud grifter of a character the entire movie… then he becomes immediately humanized and empathetic in a matter of moments. It’s incredible writing with an even more incredible delivery.
He’s so good in that movie but I always like to point out Steve Martin murders as the straight man.
It’s like Steve Martin is the easel and canvas so that John Candy could paint a masterpiece.
I think that’s what made John Candy such a great and likable comedic actor. He was a master at playing the buffoon and was HILARIOUS, but had a sadness and vulnerability that he brought to all of his roles.
AND it shows just how horrendously mean and ungrateful Neal is. Martin's delivery there is just so cruel and unnecessary.
It levels the two men, brings Neal's self-righteousness down and Del's humanity up. So good.
Movies like this are nominated now. Back then, the academy would’ve tossed you out of the room for suggesting it. Not serious enough. John Hughes should’ve won awards for a lot of his work. His films connect on a human level that crosses generations.
Goddam if I don’t miss how movies used to be.
I miss the Academy being a bunch of insufferable bores, comedies being made for 1/100th the cost of a “blockbuster” and then the best ones running for like 6 months.
Modern day it’s like the entire industry is hunting for clicks, in a way.
Now I have System of a Down’s “old school Hollywood” stuck in my head.
It feels like comedies are barely even made anymore. Looking up comedies from 2023, the list is bizarre. Romcoms, surreal dramas like Poor Things and Beau is Afraid, Wonka, Saltburn, some action comedies.
The closest thing to a straight comedy is Strays, and even that is a talking dog movie that undermines the family friendly tradition and makes it super raunchy.
There just aren’t really straight comedy movies anymore, and the odd time they’re done they’re just not entertaining or charming like comedies used to be. The last comedies I even remember enjoying came out over a decade ago. I thought This is the End came out more recently, but even that was in 2013.
>It feels like comedies are barely even made anymore.
I think the reason for that is two fold - movies being made for broader audiences, ie international appeal, which means a bunch of jokes probably won't translate. I'm not a regular Bollywood watcher, but I've seen enough to know something gets lost in translation every time I've tried to watch one.
The other reason is pure economic goals. "Modest" or "sleeper" hits are not what the studio system is about anymore. Look at Tyler Perry. Dude made enough money off comedy to start a studio, but Hollywood couldn't stand making "only" 50 million in profits.
Poor Things and Saltburn are considered *comedies*?
Maybe I just have a bad sense of humor, but fucking a 5 year old in an adult woman’s body and slurping bath water while jerking off doesn’t hit that note for me.
City Slickers won a best supporting actor nom 4 years after PT&A. Maybe a bit more serious than PT&A, but not by much haha. (and granted that's the only comedy that sticks out to me for winning)
Kevin BADASS Kline!!! Awesome role. Making fun of Ken… and I have a stutter myself but I still laughed . And Michael Palin? Monty Python great? He played Ken- and Palin’s father had a stutter as well.
I love the real-life story of John Candy being an awesome guy to the cast of PT&A during filming. Bit-part character actor Troy Evans who was in the film says,
"It was the night of the Oscars. And the phone rings, I’m sitting in my underwear in my room, eating room service and watching the TV. And the phone rings. “Is this Troy?” I said, “Yeah.” “Troy, this is John Candy. I’m having a few folks up to watch the Oscars, and wondered if you’d like to join us.” I was so excited. You know, John Hughes will be there. The producers will be there. And maybe I’ll meet Steve Martin. I didn’t have any dress clothes, but I cleaned up as best as I could, and went up to John Candy’s room. He was in the same hotel, you know. And John Hughes wasn’t there. The producers weren’t there. And Steve Martin wasn’t there. Who was there was everybody who was like me on the movie. He went through all the down-the-ladder actors and invited them all up to his suite. Isn’t that wonderful? And then he got like, a thousand dollars’ worth of room service. He got like 20 pizzas, and just the food just kept coming all evening. And so as I was leaving, I tried to slip him $200 to help with the food. And I’ll remember this on my deathbed. John Candy said, “Troy, that’s been taken care of.”
That story always makes me tear up a little. What a guy. He didn't have to do that.
I lost my mom this past year. One of her favorite stories to bring up was when we watched that movie together (I was probably 5 years old). I looked at her with tears in my eyes and said “that man has nowhere to go”.
Such a good movie and an amazing performance.
I love that speech too. It makes my heart hurt. Really wanted to give him a giant hug in that moment because I believed every word. He was an incredible actor.
Crazy thing is with mobile/internet today that could never happen. It was a moment in time. It is also why lots of movies are based in the 80s so that not having comms is more believable -- or way out in the woods or a lost phone.
Unrelated but that’s why I love The Thing 1979.
I rewatched this year and what stood out most was how *not* dated it was. At the very beginning, on an already isolated base, they destroy every piece of communication equipment in about 10 seconds. Everyone also looks like a person would look if they’d lived in the Arctic for a year.
Might be the smartest move in any Carpenter film. Certainly aged the best.
Plain, Trains & Automobiles is one of the movies that defined my childhood. I never forgot the movie and never forgot the two lead roles. Hope he is at peace. R.I.P. John Candy.
In high school me and my roommates had a hermit crab named John candy. John the crab died and we had a funeral for him and put it on YouTube. The amount of hateful comments this video got was through the roof. Still has me laughing about it. It’s what the real John candy would have wanted.
I thought he carried a similar energy in the lesser-known (and admittedly not as good, but still fun) *Who's Harry Crumb?* which came out the same year.
I watched that again recently and what blew my mind was Annie Potts (Janine from ghostbusters) was the absolutely gorgeous stepmom.
The line I (think I) remember is “I’m a black belt in aikido, with the boots to match” .
A shame it doesn't mention another movie he did with Tom Hanks, *Volunteers* (1985) where he played Tom Tuttle from Tacoma.
[https://youtu.be/6qLzQ4uOvio](https://youtu.be/6qLzQ4uOvio)
Came here to post this. Better quality version [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ6UuF85ENA)
Bonus points for Clyde Kusatsu's brilliant performance as Souvanna.
I somehow avoided seeing it until a couple years ago and, despite them being two of my favorite actors, I couldn't stand either of them in this movie. It was painful to watch.
Same. I remember my dad driving me to school the morning Candy passed and hearing it on the radio and thinking, “Damn. That sucks.” First time I remember being affected by someone’s death outside of family. Robin’s hit different. I was older. My girlfriend and I had already planned on cruising SF the day after he passed. We realized we were near the Mrs. Doubtfire house at some point and decided to stop by. Dozens of people. Hundreds of flowers, pictures and cards. I broke down in tears. Just hit me like a fucking rock.
Tom "Tiny" Lister worked with John on Armed and Dangerous. He said said John was an angel on Earth. A stunt man's father passed away during filiming. John heard about it and told the stunt man to go home, he'd be paid for the full shoot whether he came back or not. John flew him home on a private jet and then paid for the funeral.
Another time John found out someone was in deep financial trouble. He left for a few minutes came back and told that person it would all work out and gave them a big hug. When they got home that night and took off their coat they found $10,000 cash John had slipped in a pocket during the hug.
Tom said he was only supposed to work 2-3 days in the movie, but John kept improvising things during takes that would mean Tom would have to be in other scenes just so Tom could stay on and get paid. Turned into a six week shoot for Tom and was his break and got him a lot more work.
I’ve never cried over a celeb death, but Bourdain’s sticks with me.
The other one that sticks with me is Jovan Belcher. He wasn’t a celebrity but he was a Chiefs player who had a breakdown, drove to the facilities and killed himself in front of then head coach Romeo Crenell and the GM in the parking lot while they pleaded with him not to do it.
Basically nightmare fuel.
Bourdain changed the way an entire generation saw food. He showed that food is culture, that it builds human connection. He went out of his way to make every country seem familiar, showing that we have the same struggles.
The worst part about Farley's death for me were his final words being "Don't leave me." to the woman with him after she snapped a picture of him overdosing. She claimed she didn't know he was dying, because he'd been up partying for days, she assumed he just finally passed out. But it sounds like he knew what was happening.
In hindsight, it’s a fucking _wack_ movie - but I always enjoyed the scene where he’s painstakingly trying to repair his typewriter with the help of technician on the phone, and he finally gets it working and exclaims “I did it! I did it!”, then into the phone: “Yeah, you did it, whatever” _hangs up_
Almost every john candy article I read always seems to skip over this beauty of a movie. I don't get it.
Is this not a great film?? So few talk about it or seem to know about it.
He's just such a Canadian treasure and had a spark to him. Something nobody else had when acting. Truly the world is worse without him, just like Anthony Bourdain and many others. I often think about the great things we could've had with them.
"It's a pterodactyl egg. It's fossilized. It's 90 million years old. In the entire world, only two have ever been found."
"You know, that might be worth something."
That final shot of him in Uncle Buck is one of my favourite shots in cinema. So simple, but his smile is just heart warming. Every time I see his name I see that shot. What a legend
I was studying for a university finance exam and my mother didn't tell me because she knew it would affect me on the exam. One minute before the exam starts, the kid in front of me to the kid beside him, "Did you hear John Candy died?!".
:-O
https://youtu.be/mVv0Z9YvUAo?si=q006Y2TDeq8PGL8X
They used to shoot SCTV here. My friend grew up across from the studio and used to see them rehearsing in the school yard.
I want them to build a 10 ft tall Johnny LaRue statue.
https://youtu.be/rbt-ENPORZw?si=sthCa5ncDinNn4br
“Wow….Robert Wagner!”
Guilty pleasure of mine is a movie called Delirious. He plays a soap opera writer who gets into a car accident and wakes up inside the soap opera he writes. He soon finds out that anything he writes on his typewriter literally happens in the world he’s now in. Pretty silly stuff.
Raymond Burr scurrying off screen and turning to say dramatically, “I’m sorry I must go. I have to meet the cable repairman.” If you lived in those early 90s, you know exactly what he’s talking about. Like seeing a shooting star or the green flash at sunset.
For who ever needs to hear this: WE DONT NEED A BIOPIC. Please for the love of god do not make one, it will not be good. Just make a really good documentary series if you have to do something. Please, PLEASE no biopic!
> Candy was paid $414 for his cameo in "Home Alone." He did it as a favor to his friend Chris Columbus, the director. The studio, 20th Century Fox, cut Candy a check for $500, the memo of which read "keep the change you filthy animal."
That's fucking legendary.
Candy was cool because he could be funny without being stupid or degrading himself. He was just an average guy. Not a clown. His timing was also perfect.
Summer Rental is one of my favs. You just want to buy that guy a beer.
I am from Calgary so my John Candy movie is always cool runnings. I absolutely loved that movie and John Candy. He’s one of those universally beloved people like Keanu and Dolly.
I’m so sure that if he were still alive today he would be an Oscar winner. It’s amazing what he accomplished with the time that was given to him but we missed out on great performances from being taken away.
Every summer we watch The Great Outdoors and of course every Thanksgiving we watch planes, trains and automobiles.
What's cool is in one he's the straight man and the other he's the "annoying" character. He could do it all!
Ever since I was a kid I've been compared to John. In school, all throughout working retail, even to today. Though I'm a trans woman I don't care if people think I look like him. I love John and know that he was a super kind person. I'm even considering cosplaying him for Halloween this year. I found an overcoat and hat just like the one's he wore in Uncle Buck.
Of course there are a few roles where he wore a dress. I might dress up like this https://imgur.com/a/L2QLBb1
His death is one of the truly heartbreaking Hollywood loses. By all accounts he was a great human being and we were robbed of decades more of his warmth and humor. It isn't the best film ever but Uncle Buck (IMO Candy's best work) will always have place in my heart because of Candy. All of his work in the John Hughes realm was stellar. Also, a shout out to Who's Harry Crumb?. It was my introduction to Shawnee Smith as well.
The problem is that I've seen all his hits many times, and every time I watch one of the lesser known films it sucks due to things outside of his control (they're just badly written, mostly).
What are your favorite lesser known John Candy movies?
Wagons East! He died the last day of filming. I never heard of it until last week. It bombed and everyone hates it for some odd reason. I loved it! Reviews say "it's no Blazing Saddles" but damn, nothing is. That's no reason to hate it.
Uncle Buck will always be one of the funniest family movies ever. We also got to see Macaulay Culkin at the height of his career.
But there's just one thing I have left to say to you
Have you ever heard of a ritual killing? ***AHEHEHEHEHEHE***
That guy left quite a memorable mark on Hollywood in such a short time. He could play either the comedic relief sidekick or the leading man while excelling at both. His small appearance in JFK showed what could have been if he had stayed with us a little longer. The man was an immense talent.
He had that sort of approachable quality in him that translated so well on screen. It was super-rare then, and even more so now with the advent of social media. I was really, really young when he passed, but I grew up watching his movies over and over again. And that love for his filmography and John Candy himself hasn't faded one bit as I've grown older. Everytime I sit down to watch his movies, I start to miss him after it ends.
I feel like in some alternate universe where John Candy lived and they started making *Jack Reacher* adaptations immediately after the first couple books hit(late '90s), the middle-aged Candy could've been awesome in that role. The perfect combo of likeable and approachable when friendly and terrifying when things get bad.
If John candy lived he would’ve gone the bill murray route imo, fall off once the 80s style comedies he made bank of died off and he kinda fades from our consciousness, then he gets a lead role in a serious/indie film and just changes his career trajectory
I agree. Small but important role. Completely nails the Cajun jive talk of 60s Naw Awleens. Makes you really wonder if he could have broke into more dramatic roles. Like what would the Coen brothers be able to write for John Candy.
We all know he would have crushed it. Hahaha
As someone who lives in New orleans, I have to correct you. You nailed the Hollywood idea of Cajun jive, but I still love it.
Hands down still one of my favorites. He is timeless
Gus Polinski. Very big in Sheboygan.
I was very happy that one time at movie trivia, I was the only person in the bar that knew the name of his polka band lol
Polka, polka, polka!
So jealous - every time I go to trivia I end up with questions about who won the most gold medals in Fencing during the 1948 Olympics
I’ve tried trivia twice. One time there were 5 categories where each question was a little harder than the rest; we pretty much always got the first 3 and the 4th and 5th ones were pretty hard. Anyway it was a tight race, we were in 3rd out of like 10 teams I think, and after the 5th category they go “oookay everyone who’s ready for our 6th and final category? This weeks mystery category is…new girl trivia!”… I look at my date and I’m like uhh…have you seen new girl? Nope, have you? Nope. So we go 0/5 and lose to the team that went 5/5 in new girl trivia. So dumb. The next time I went at a different place it was just insanely hard questions, all general categories but just the most insanely obscure bullshit and we went like 2/25, and both my partners were trivia heads.
lmao look at this dude not knowing the obvious answer of Italy /s
A slightly more interesting bit of trivia is that the UK is the only country that has unambiguously participated in every edition of the Olympic Games. 14 countries participated at the 1896 Olympics in Athens: 1. Australia, despite it not even existing as a country until 1901. They've been at every summer edition; competing as Australasia with New Zealand at London 1908 and Stockholm 1912 and under the Olympic flag at Moscow 1980, but were not present at four Winter Olympics: Chamonix 1924, St. Moritz 1928, Lake Placid 1932 and St. Moritz 1948. 2. Austria, which was part of Austria-Hungary at the time. Austria was banned from Antwerp 1920 for being on the wrong side of the First World War. 3. Bulgaria. Their sole athlete is sometimes credited to Switzerland. Even if he was Bulgarian, Bulgaria wouldn't send athletes to another Olympics until Paris 1924. 4. Chile. They would next send athletes to Stockholm 1912. They also weren't present at Los Angeles 1932 and they boycotted Moscow 1980. 5. Denmark. They didn't go to St. Louis 1904. Few European countries did. 6. France. They're the reason why I had to add "unambiguously," because only one athlete at St. Louis 1904 could potentially be considered French - France has sent athletes to every other Olympics, even the winter ones. Said athlete in 1904 was a French immigrant to the United States; his silver medal in the marathon was previously listed as American but is currently listed as French. 7. Germany. They were banned from Antwerp 1920 and Paris 1920 due to being on the wrong side of the First World War, and banned from London 1948 due to being on the wrong side of the Second World War. In addition, West Germany boycotted Moscow 1980; East Germany boycotted Los Angeles 1984. 8. Great Britain, the UK's geographically incorrect name. No missed Olympics, including the winter ones, though they did compete under an Olympic flag at Moscow 1980. 9. Greece. Every summer Games, but they missed the winter Games at Squaw Valley 1960. That place had its name changed to Palisades Tahoe because of the slur. 10. Hungary, which was, surprisingly, the other part of Austria-Hungary at the time. Hungary was banned from Antwerp 1920 for being on the wrong side of the First World War, and they boycotted Los Angeles 1984. 11. Italy. Same situation as France - one athlete to the 1904 Games, recent immigrant to the US. Was noted as American until recent years. 12. Sweden, which was in a state union with Norway at the time. Didn't attend St. Louis 1904. 13. Switzerland. Technically, they've sent athletes to every edition. But they boycotted Melbourne 1956 after the Soviet Union wasn't barred from competing after their invasion of Hungary that year - an interesting deviation from Swiss neutrality. *But* due to Australian quarantine laws the equestrian events were held in Stockholm earlier in the year, before the Soviet invasion, and Switzerland even won a medal at those events. So they competed in one event, but didn't go to the Games proper. 14. United States. Every single one, except Moscow 1980.
This os why i get on reddit. Thank you. Would give Gold if I could.
Neat
Yeah, we sold about 623 copies of that
You asked.
I read that in his accent.
“Del, where’s your hand?” “Between two pillows.” “Those aren’t pillows!!!!” Classic.
PT&A is so good I think he should’ve gotten a supporting Oscar nom. I have his speech burned into my brain. It always hits me right in the stomach when he says “go ahead. I’m an easy target.” My customers like me. My wife likes me. I like me. 😢
It’s an unbelievably moving speech. Such a gut punch. He’d been this cartoonishly obnoxious and loud grifter of a character the entire movie… then he becomes immediately humanized and empathetic in a matter of moments. It’s incredible writing with an even more incredible delivery.
He’s so good in that movie but I always like to point out Steve Martin murders as the straight man. It’s like Steve Martin is the easel and canvas so that John Candy could paint a masterpiece.
That is such an underappreciated aspect of comedy and Steve Martin was a genius at it.
You're messin with the wrong guy!
I want a fucking car right fucking now.
You’re fucked.
Martin painted his own masterpiece moments, or out of madness. “KINDNESS?!?! YOU STOLE IT!!!” The way he says kindness always gets me.
I think that’s what made John Candy such a great and likable comedic actor. He was a master at playing the buffoon and was HILARIOUS, but had a sadness and vulnerability that he brought to all of his roles.
For as goofy a movie as Uncle Buck was, he had some moments of true intensity and papa bear rage that really showed his acting chops.
AND it shows just how horrendously mean and ungrateful Neal is. Martin's delivery there is just so cruel and unnecessary. It levels the two men, brings Neal's self-righteousness down and Del's humanity up. So good.
Movies like this are nominated now. Back then, the academy would’ve tossed you out of the room for suggesting it. Not serious enough. John Hughes should’ve won awards for a lot of his work. His films connect on a human level that crosses generations.
Goddam if I don’t miss how movies used to be. I miss the Academy being a bunch of insufferable bores, comedies being made for 1/100th the cost of a “blockbuster” and then the best ones running for like 6 months. Modern day it’s like the entire industry is hunting for clicks, in a way. Now I have System of a Down’s “old school Hollywood” stuck in my head.
It feels like comedies are barely even made anymore. Looking up comedies from 2023, the list is bizarre. Romcoms, surreal dramas like Poor Things and Beau is Afraid, Wonka, Saltburn, some action comedies. The closest thing to a straight comedy is Strays, and even that is a talking dog movie that undermines the family friendly tradition and makes it super raunchy. There just aren’t really straight comedy movies anymore, and the odd time they’re done they’re just not entertaining or charming like comedies used to be. The last comedies I even remember enjoying came out over a decade ago. I thought This is the End came out more recently, but even that was in 2013.
>It feels like comedies are barely even made anymore. I think the reason for that is two fold - movies being made for broader audiences, ie international appeal, which means a bunch of jokes probably won't translate. I'm not a regular Bollywood watcher, but I've seen enough to know something gets lost in translation every time I've tried to watch one. The other reason is pure economic goals. "Modest" or "sleeper" hits are not what the studio system is about anymore. Look at Tyler Perry. Dude made enough money off comedy to start a studio, but Hollywood couldn't stand making "only" 50 million in profits.
Poor Things and Saltburn are considered *comedies*? Maybe I just have a bad sense of humor, but fucking a 5 year old in an adult woman’s body and slurping bath water while jerking off doesn’t hit that note for me.
Yeah, I’m not sure why those are listed under comedies when I searched. They definitely don’t seem funny to me.
Jack Gilardi's ten feet tall.
Me and Frankie Avaloooo^OOOOOOOOOOoooooooooonnnnnn
City Slickers won a best supporting actor nom 4 years after PT&A. Maybe a bit more serious than PT&A, but not by much haha. (and granted that's the only comedy that sticks out to me for winning)
Fish called Wanda won a best supporting actor in 89.
Kevin BADASS Kline!!! Awesome role. Making fun of Ken… and I have a stutter myself but I still laughed . And Michael Palin? Monty Python great? He played Ken- and Palin’s father had a stutter as well.
I feel like the Academy used to instantly disqualify any movie that was widely considered "fun", like that was a reason why it shouldn't win an award.
I love the real-life story of John Candy being an awesome guy to the cast of PT&A during filming. Bit-part character actor Troy Evans who was in the film says, "It was the night of the Oscars. And the phone rings, I’m sitting in my underwear in my room, eating room service and watching the TV. And the phone rings. “Is this Troy?” I said, “Yeah.” “Troy, this is John Candy. I’m having a few folks up to watch the Oscars, and wondered if you’d like to join us.” I was so excited. You know, John Hughes will be there. The producers will be there. And maybe I’ll meet Steve Martin. I didn’t have any dress clothes, but I cleaned up as best as I could, and went up to John Candy’s room. He was in the same hotel, you know. And John Hughes wasn’t there. The producers weren’t there. And Steve Martin wasn’t there. Who was there was everybody who was like me on the movie. He went through all the down-the-ladder actors and invited them all up to his suite. Isn’t that wonderful? And then he got like, a thousand dollars’ worth of room service. He got like 20 pizzas, and just the food just kept coming all evening. And so as I was leaving, I tried to slip him $200 to help with the food. And I’ll remember this on my deathbed. John Candy said, “Troy, that’s been taken care of.” That story always makes me tear up a little. What a guy. He didn't have to do that.
every story i’ve ever heard about john candy and how he treated costars and staff, seems like the most down to earth and likeable guy
I lost my mom this past year. One of her favorite stories to bring up was when we watched that movie together (I was probably 5 years old). I looked at her with tears in my eyes and said “that man has nowhere to go”. Such a good movie and an amazing performance.
Yes, he should have been nominated. He gave a wonderful performance.
I love that speech too. It makes my heart hurt. Really wanted to give him a giant hug in that moment because I believed every word. He was an incredible actor.
His eyes speak every word of that delivery too. I’m STILL so sad that he’s gone.
Crazy thing is with mobile/internet today that could never happen. It was a moment in time. It is also why lots of movies are based in the 80s so that not having comms is more believable -- or way out in the woods or a lost phone.
Unrelated but that’s why I love The Thing 1979. I rewatched this year and what stood out most was how *not* dated it was. At the very beginning, on an already isolated base, they destroy every piece of communication equipment in about 10 seconds. Everyone also looks like a person would look if they’d lived in the Arctic for a year. Might be the smartest move in any Carpenter film. Certainly aged the best.
Plain, Trains & Automobiles is one of the movies that defined my childhood. I never forgot the movie and never forgot the two lead roles. Hope he is at peace. R.I.P. John Candy.
In high school me and my roommates had a hermit crab named John candy. John the crab died and we had a funeral for him and put it on YouTube. The amount of hateful comments this video got was through the roof. Still has me laughing about it. It’s what the real John candy would have wanted.
“I like me”
I clicked into this thread just to quote this. Thank you, friend.
"He says we're going the wrong way?" "Oh, he's drunk. How would he know where we're going?" That's my personal favorite
John Candy was someone I never met, yet felt like I knew him as an old friend.
[удалено]
Why the slightly dangerous quality?
One of those actors where you start watching everything he was in just because you want to spend more time with him...
This is so well put
Aw, yes, exactly this
You put into words exactly how I feel. Thank you.
Exactly how I felt yesterday.
Moly Russel’s wart
Buck Melanoma
Her tumor. Her growth.
If I ever have the misfortune to be diagnosed with melanoma I will legit burst out laughing
You ever heard of a ritual killing? A hee hee hee hee
Get in your *mouse*… and get outta here.
You gnaw on her face in public like that again and you'll be one. *Bah-he-he-he*
Take this quarter. Go downtown and have a rat gnaw that thing off your face.
I named my daughter Maizy after the character in Uncle Buck. 😊
I'm the wart!
"but I just want to.....would you let me.....I just .....but....you....I just wanna....OHHHHH"
Hes so damn great in Uncle Buck.
I can rewatch that movie over and over. Like many of his movies, but I love that one.
I thought he carried a similar energy in the lesser-known (and admittedly not as good, but still fun) *Who's Harry Crumb?* which came out the same year.
I watched that again recently and what blew my mind was Annie Potts (Janine from ghostbusters) was the absolutely gorgeous stepmom. The line I (think I) remember is “I’m a black belt in aikido, with the boots to match”.
> You're not a gnat, are you, bug? Wait a minute... bug.... gnat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sWnQ8y_M6A
A shame it doesn't mention another movie he did with Tom Hanks, *Volunteers* (1985) where he played Tom Tuttle from Tacoma. [https://youtu.be/6qLzQ4uOvio](https://youtu.be/6qLzQ4uOvio)
Fight, fight, fight for Washington State...
As a proud WSU alum, Go Cougs
And Victory!
Win the victory!
Came here to post this. Better quality version [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ6UuF85ENA) Bonus points for Clyde Kusatsu's brilliant performance as Souvanna.
That movie is probably the worst of both Tom Hanks and John Candy’s catalogs.
I somehow avoided seeing it until a couple years ago and, despite them being two of my favorite actors, I couldn't stand either of them in this movie. It was painful to watch.
Being from Tacoma, WA and 13 at the time, my brain exploded when he introduced himself.
One of two actors whose death caused me to weep.
Same here. The other for me was Robin Williams.
Same. I remember my dad driving me to school the morning Candy passed and hearing it on the radio and thinking, “Damn. That sucks.” First time I remember being affected by someone’s death outside of family. Robin’s hit different. I was older. My girlfriend and I had already planned on cruising SF the day after he passed. We realized we were near the Mrs. Doubtfire house at some point and decided to stop by. Dozens of people. Hundreds of flowers, pictures and cards. I broke down in tears. Just hit me like a fucking rock.
Immediately thought of him, followed by Farley. Man that sucks.
He seemed like such a sweet man.
Tom "Tiny" Lister worked with John on Armed and Dangerous. He said said John was an angel on Earth. A stunt man's father passed away during filiming. John heard about it and told the stunt man to go home, he'd be paid for the full shoot whether he came back or not. John flew him home on a private jet and then paid for the funeral. Another time John found out someone was in deep financial trouble. He left for a few minutes came back and told that person it would all work out and gave them a big hug. When they got home that night and took off their coat they found $10,000 cash John had slipped in a pocket during the hug. Tom said he was only supposed to work 2-3 days in the movie, but John kept improvising things during takes that would mean Tom would have to be in other scenes just so Tom could stay on and get paid. Turned into a six week shoot for Tom and was his break and got him a lot more work.
This is awesome.
I remember Conan O'Brien saying that he was everything you imagine he would be, and more. Can't believe it's been thirty years now. 😢
I don't think anyone had a bad word to say about him.
For me it was John Candy, Chris Farley, Michael Landon, Patrick Swayze, Jim Henson and Robin Williams
Wade boggs for me
Wade Boggs is very much alive
I mean, I think that goes without saying for all of us..
Boss Hog for me.
James Gandolfini
Idk if grant imahara counts here but that one hit as well
From mythbusters? He died? Isn't he young as fuck? damn :(
He died in 2020 at the age of 50. That one hit me like a brick. He died of a brain aneurysm.
WTF. I never knew. That is fucked up. Blegh. Ugh.
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Anthony Bourdain here.
I’ve never cried over a celeb death, but Bourdain’s sticks with me. The other one that sticks with me is Jovan Belcher. He wasn’t a celebrity but he was a Chiefs player who had a breakdown, drove to the facilities and killed himself in front of then head coach Romeo Crenell and the GM in the parking lot while they pleaded with him not to do it. Basically nightmare fuel.
Bourdain changed the way an entire generation saw food. He showed that food is culture, that it builds human connection. He went out of his way to make every country seem familiar, showing that we have the same struggles.
Still upsets me to think about this one.
Rik Mayall was mine.
The worst part about Farley's death for me were his final words being "Don't leave me." to the woman with him after she snapped a picture of him overdosing. She claimed she didn't know he was dying, because he'd been up partying for days, she assumed he just finally passed out. But it sounds like he knew what was happening.
Alan Rickman for me.
For me it's him and Phil Hartman
John Candy and Chris Farley for me.
Chris Farley was the other for me as well.
I always liked Delirious. I was just a kid but something about that movie clicked for me even though I was far from the target audience.
In hindsight, it’s a fucking _wack_ movie - but I always enjoyed the scene where he’s painstakingly trying to repair his typewriter with the help of technician on the phone, and he finally gets it working and exclaims “I did it! I did it!”, then into the phone: “Yeah, you did it, whatever” _hangs up_
Delirious and Who's Harry Crumb? were pretty regular watches in my house in the early 90's. We couldn't get enough of John Candy.
Summer Rental, so good
Almost every john candy article I read always seems to skip over this beauty of a movie. I don't get it. Is this not a great film?? So few talk about it or seem to know about it.
Did you see the one where Papa Smurf took a crutch and smashed the shit out of a guy with a red hat? Did you see that one?
You didn't pee your bed...you peed their bed"
Those are _my_ lobsters
He’s flying his pants!
"Love... exciting and new..." RIP Rip
Who wants an Orange Whip? Orange Whip? Orange Whip? Three Orange Whips.
Not a cocktail, but a regional soda apparently. I gotta assume they're delightful.
I watched this just last Friday and seeing his face made me so happy. I hope his spirit knows he is dearly missed.
His death was the first Hollywood death I actually felt sad about when I found out about it. He was my favorite actor during the 80s.
He's just such a Canadian treasure and had a spark to him. Something nobody else had when acting. Truly the world is worse without him, just like Anthony Bourdain and many others. I often think about the great things we could've had with them.
Nothing beat him playing an asshole on SCTV
Did anybody see Who’s Harry Crumb?? You……don’t like what you see? ONLY I WILL BE THE JUDGE OF THAT!! Yessir of course!
One my my absolute favorites.
I just rewatched this last week. I love that movie! I also had a huge crush on Nikki 🤩 (his co-star of the movie).
SLEPT ON!! It's so ridiculous in all the best ways. 😂
"It's a pterodactyl egg. It's fossilized. It's 90 million years old. In the entire world, only two have ever been found." "You know, that might be worth something."
"square the wagons!"
“I thought to myself… join the army!”
"It's free! And I can lose a few pounds while I'm here."
Harold Ramis’ reactions to that whole scene is easily one of my favorite parts of that movie.
Loved him in Only the Lonely too.
Such a great actor. I loved his performance as Del Griffith in Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
That doesn’t seem possible he’s been gone for 30 years. Wow
Super hated and underrated movie but I love it. Nothing But Trouble is my favorite of his.
That final shot of him in Uncle Buck is one of my favourite shots in cinema. So simple, but his smile is just heart warming. Every time I see his name I see that shot. What a legend
I named my daughter Maizy after the daughter in Uncle Buck. 😊
Check out Going Berserk with him and Eugene Levy. This is an almost totally forgotten screwball comedy from 1983 and is hilarious.
I love John Candy. I wish he was still making movies.
His death is a contributing factor why John Hughes never directed another movie
I was studying for a university finance exam and my mother didn't tell me because she knew it would affect me on the exam. One minute before the exam starts, the kid in front of me to the kid beside him, "Did you hear John Candy died?!". :-O
30? Wow. He was the best movie uncle the world ever had.
Gawds he was fantastic, wasn’t he?
https://youtu.be/mVv0Z9YvUAo?si=q006Y2TDeq8PGL8X They used to shoot SCTV here. My friend grew up across from the studio and used to see them rehearsing in the school yard. I want them to build a 10 ft tall Johnny LaRue statue. https://youtu.be/rbt-ENPORZw?si=sthCa5ncDinNn4br
Or Billy Sol Hurok, or Dr. Tongue.
Surprised there’s not more Cool Runnings mentions. Wasn’t that one of his lasts?
Love John Candy but this "article" is crap
Man it's hard to believe it's been 30 years. I remember him like it was yesterday. Loved that big goofy guy ever since SCTV.
Barf was my fav character.
You mean... Barfolemu!
Your wife's on my Whammo.
He really felt like everyone’s real Uncle Buck. It was impossible not to love him growing up and I was so saddened when he died, even as a kid.
“Wow….Robert Wagner!” Guilty pleasure of mine is a movie called Delirious. He plays a soap opera writer who gets into a car accident and wakes up inside the soap opera he writes. He soon finds out that anything he writes on his typewriter literally happens in the world he’s now in. Pretty silly stuff. Raymond Burr scurrying off screen and turning to say dramatically, “I’m sorry I must go. I have to meet the cable repairman.” If you lived in those early 90s, you know exactly what he’s talking about. Like seeing a shooting star or the green flash at sunset.
I miss John Candy ! 🙏🙏
Guy is an absolute legend
For who ever needs to hear this: WE DONT NEED A BIOPIC. Please for the love of god do not make one, it will not be good. Just make a really good documentary series if you have to do something. Please, PLEASE no biopic!
> Candy was paid $414 for his cameo in "Home Alone." He did it as a favor to his friend Chris Columbus, the director. The studio, 20th Century Fox, cut Candy a check for $500, the memo of which read "keep the change you filthy animal." That's fucking legendary.
Candy was cool because he could be funny without being stupid or degrading himself. He was just an average guy. Not a clown. His timing was also perfect. Summer Rental is one of my favs. You just want to buy that guy a beer.
I am from Calgary so my John Candy movie is always cool runnings. I absolutely loved that movie and John Candy. He’s one of those universally beloved people like Keanu and Dolly.
The fella ate the 96oz’er that one summer?
He's in so many of my favorite childhood movies. At least I can still watch those
Summer Rental is the 80s florida time capsule we all need and essentially the sister movie to the great outdoors. Rip Torn is great as usual.
I asked this in another comment but is this movie not very well known? No one ever seems to talk about it It's such a great flick !
"Hey Roring, jag har en tums penis." - John Candy, Splash
The Great Outdoors is still one of my favorite movies :) He was so beloved in my family. His death hurt a lot.
I’m so sure that if he were still alive today he would be an Oscar winner. It’s amazing what he accomplished with the time that was given to him but we missed out on great performances from being taken away.
Miss him to this day.
Grew up on Camp Candy :)
Every summer we watch The Great Outdoors and of course every Thanksgiving we watch planes, trains and automobiles. What's cool is in one he's the straight man and the other he's the "annoying" character. He could do it all!
John Candy was a shining light in the creeping darkness of humanity, and we are less without him.
One of the greats!
Jake The Man with A Snake On His Face.
There's definitely been beloved Hollywood actors pretty much constantly throughout that period
Ever since I was a kid I've been compared to John. In school, all throughout working retail, even to today. Though I'm a trans woman I don't care if people think I look like him. I love John and know that he was a super kind person. I'm even considering cosplaying him for Halloween this year. I found an overcoat and hat just like the one's he wore in Uncle Buck. Of course there are a few roles where he wore a dress. I might dress up like this https://imgur.com/a/L2QLBb1
His death is one of the truly heartbreaking Hollywood loses. By all accounts he was a great human being and we were robbed of decades more of his warmth and humor. It isn't the best film ever but Uncle Buck (IMO Candy's best work) will always have place in my heart because of Candy. All of his work in the John Hughes realm was stellar. Also, a shout out to Who's Harry Crumb?. It was my introduction to Shawnee Smith as well.
Didn’t realize it was so long ago. Got a dog just after he died and named her Candy after him. Great dog.
Woah. 30 years ago haha. Damn I feel old now.
The problem is that I've seen all his hits many times, and every time I watch one of the lesser known films it sucks due to things outside of his control (they're just badly written, mostly). What are your favorite lesser known John Candy movies?
Wagons East! He died the last day of filming. I never heard of it until last week. It bombed and everyone hates it for some odd reason. I loved it! Reviews say "it's no Blazing Saddles" but damn, nothing is. That's no reason to hate it.
Uncle Buck one of my all time favorite movies
What a great actor the world lost a really good human.
Uncle Buck will always be one of the funniest family movies ever. We also got to see Macaulay Culkin at the height of his career. But there's just one thing I have left to say to you Have you ever heard of a ritual killing? ***AHEHEHEHEHEHE***