Ryan Reynolds said he personally contacted a journalist after finding archival footage of reporters making derogatory remarks about the late comedian John Candy while assembling the documentary "John Candy: I Like Me," which opened the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
Reynolds, who produced the film with Colin Hanks, told an audience at the festival that his team uncovered a range of archival interviews and commentary and that some journalists had poked fun at Candy’s weight. He said the filmmakers chose to leave much of that material out of the final cut but that he called one writer to discuss it.
"There was a lot of things we left out of the documentary, journalists just saying stuff. One of them I called," Reynolds said onstage. He added that his intent was not to shame the reporter. "I wasn’t trying to shame him or teach him a lesson. [I told him] I took it out of the movie, but I’d put it in the movie if you wanted to talk about it, because maybe you have something to say about it, about your journey whenever it comes to something like that." Reynolds said the conversation was thoughtful.
The documentary includes past interviews in which Candy responded with wit to jabs about his body, but Reynolds and Hanks said they omitted some of the harsher remarks they found in archival material. The film traces Candy’s rise from Canadian sketch comedy to Hollywood stardom and features contributions from friends and colleagues, including Steve Martin and Macaulay Culkin.
The film premiered on the festival’s opening night, where Reynolds became emotional while discussing Candy and called the project possibly "the last John Candy movie" that could be made. He said he wanted to honor the comedian by debuting the film in Canada, Candy’s native country.
Reynolds posed on the carpet with Candy’s children, Chris and Jennifer, and his widow, Rosemary; Candy’s children are credited as co-executive producers on the documentary. Candy died at age 43 after suffering a heart attack.
Reynolds emphasized both Candy’s comedic gifts and his vulnerabilities. "When you watch SCTV, some of those sketches look brilliant; they’re actually genius. And some are really terrible. That’s what make it special. You see them experimenting and playing and really kind of enjoying the lack of perfection," he said. He also spoke about Candy’s struggles with mental health and his tendency to be a people pleaser, saying Candy was "on the cusp of talking about it." Reynolds urged discussion as a way to confront mental-health issues.
Contributors to the film recalled Candy’s generosity and craft. Steve Martin, who co-starred with Candy in the 1987 comedy "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," said Candy’s abilities inspired filmmaker John Hughes to write the 1989 film "Uncle Buck" for him. Macaulay Culkin, who played Candy’s on-screen nephew in that film, described Candy as kind and respectful to child actors and said Candy "put a lot of himself into" the performance.
The documentary, directed and produced by a team that includes Reynolds and Hanks, blends interviews, archival footage and personal reflections to examine Candy’s career, personal life and legacy. Festival audiences and critics have noted the film’s mixture of affectionate appraisal and candid material about the pressures and prejudices Candy faced in his life and career.
Reynolds and Hanks have said they aimed for a balanced portrait rather than a hagiography, and the decision to omit certain archival jabs while including Candy’s own responses reflects that editorial approach. The filmmakers did not release additional details about the journalist Reynolds called, and Reynolds described their exchange only as "a thoughtful conversation."