Book Review.
RETELLING JOHN CANDY, I LIKE ME by Bruce McTrever – Book Review
I’m not the only one, I’m sure. I loved our John Candy. When I heard that he died in Mexico, I said I’d never watch the movie he was making there. I never have.
“If I can make people laugh, then I’m not wasting time. That has to count for something, right?” – John Franklin Candy
RETELLING JOHN CANDY, I LIKE ME by Bruce McTrever – Book Review
KINDLE… Initializing… A stark black and white cover… RETELLING JOHN CANDY… “I Like Me“
The author is Bruce McTrever. And he’s going to give us a 2025 view of John Candy. The man and his life as we knew it. With fresh insight into the man.
No doubt — John Candy is still my favourite actor. Probably CANADA’s Favourite actor!
The Early Years: “Who’s that guy?”
I remember the day we got the news.
It was a Saturday. March 5, 1994. Our John had died in Mexico the day before. Making a movie in extremely hot conditions. He was only 43. We would learn later that it had been a heart attack. And that he’d known for years that he would go that way. Heredity.
Bruce McTrever starts his book in Mexico. Then takes us to Toronto’s Woodville Avenue in the mid-Fifties. Where a young, shy, clumsy John was already making ’em laugh.
Bruce has done his research. He gives us a searching study of John’s fatherless childhood. The streets, school, the family dinner table, all were his training ground. Turning an insecure childhood into laughter. In his teen years, even a muddy football field became a comedy setting.
John Candy height: he had a physical presence. He not only had weight, but at six feet, one inch, he had a presence that made some people glad that this giant was gentle.
Late Sixties and early Seventies brought the incredible Second City improvisational comedy. Bruce takes us onto the stage as John learns about half-scripted sketches, half-improvised lunacy…
John met Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara and Joe Flaherty. For some, Comedy is about individual ego. But Comedy is always about Community and John is meeting lifetime friends and co-conspirators. Andrea Martin, Harold Ramis, Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis…
SCTV.
The Middle Years: “I like me.”
When Hollywood came calling, it was tentatively. John’s appearances were quickly done. Cameos, background bits, supporting characters. But the smiling, easy Canadian made something of them. They enabled him to be himself.
His ’81 appearance in Bill Murray’s Stripes was John’s moment to shine. John’s character, Dewey “Ox” Oxberger, was a lovable, overweight recruit. He had joined “to lose a few pounds and gain some confidence.” When Ox is bullied, John revealed what can almost be called a Canadian Moment. A man who shows both his vulnerability and strength.
Then came Splash, Brewster’s Millions, Summer Rental. Spaceballs.
And Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Amidst the comedy, the car fire and constant frustration comes that quiet moment when John’s Del Griffith quietly admits, “I like me. My wife likes me. My customers like me.”
And Uncle Buck, of course. It’s not exactly babysitting, but Buck is asked to watch over his two nieces and nephew while their parents rush to a family emergency. There’s revolt from the kids. Ineptitude from Buck Russell — although those manhole cover sized pancakes look good enough to eat.
There’s that school scene where Buck strides down the hallway. The final confrontation between Buck and Mrs. Hogarth, the Assistant Principal. Which almost seems to be a cruel attack by Buck. Very un-Canadian. But we Canadians have sometimes wondered why Hollywood treats teachers with such reverence and respect. There are no bad, power-tripping teachers in Hollywood’s school system. Only a firm rule that teachers must always teach American History. Not in Uncle Buck, eh?
Uncle Buck is still shown on Canadian TV. John Candy’s greatest character.
The Later Years: “Just me being me.”
“Visiting John’s house was like being adopted for the night. He had this way of making you feel like family, even if you’d only known him for ten minutes.” Martin Short
There were more movies. A guest shot in Home Alone. Serious characterization in JFK. And the quiet, loving “let me help you” character Irv Blitzer, who coaches the Jamaican national bobsleigh team.
And John was blessed with a loving family. His wife Rosemary, and their two children, Jennifer and Chris. For John, family. They were John Candy’s anchor.
His death was hard on them. It’s not a surprise that his family, his friends, we fans who loved the guy, still miss John.
“John could tell you he was scared or sad, but he’d phrase it in such a funny way that you’d laugh — and then feel guilty, because you realized he was telling the truth.” – Eugene Levy
“John was a big, loving guy who wanted nothing more than to make people laugh.” Dan Aykroyd
“At least if I go, I’ll have left a lot of laughs behind. They can write that on my tombstone.” – John Candy
RETELLING JOHN CANDY, I LIKE ME: Into the Life of a Humorous Story by freelance journalist Bruce McTrever is a good accounting of John Candy’s life and comedy. With a look at the years since. His legacy to all of us. His loving fans. John’s family and the love they gave him.
Two of Bruce’s books I’ll be putting on my Want to Read list are A SAVAGE ART, The Life & Cartoons of Pat Oliphant: A Journalistic Journey into America’s Most Daring Political Cartoonist and JAWS @ 50: The Shark, The Spielberg, The Summer That Changed Hollywood.
Live Free, Mon Ami! – Brian Alan Burhoe
For more, see John Candy.
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