By MARTIN KNELMAN (St. Martin’s Press; 1996)
A book about the life of everybody’s favorite Canadian funnyman John Candy. Candy was an irrepressibly loveable, charming performer, and I for one was damn sorry when he passed away on May 4, 1994, at age 43. It turns out that, according to this book, Candy’s career was an all-too-typical one in many respects: he began as a kind-hearted, unpretentious young comic whose demise was foretold early on, as apparently “Lack of moderation was an integral part of the Candy package.”
Hailing from a working-class background in Ontario, Candy was profoundly impacted by the death of his father, which occurred when his son was just five, and served as the closest thing that exists to a Rosebud in this particular life. His initial brush with fame occurred on the Canadian sketch series SCTV, which Candy parlayed into a prolific career in films ranging from 1941 (1979) to GOING BERSERK (1983), SPLASH (1984) and PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES (1987).
SPLASH (1984) Trailer
PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES (1987) Trailer
Of course, the man also made an ungodly number of lousy movies in the late eighties and early nineties—HOT TO TROT (1988), SPEED ZONE (1989), MASTERS OF MENACE (1990), etc. He also let his personal demons assume full reign after being drawn into the orbit of the notorious Bruce McNall, who in 1991 convinced Candy to become a co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts, with predictably disastrous results.
HOT TO TROT (1988) Trailer
As we all know, Candy’s girth was a constant issue, and mention of it in his presence brought immediate banishment from his inner circle. Inevitably, Candy’s weight ballooned out of control, and led to his fatal heart attack on the set of WAGONS EAST (1994).
A sad story, to be sure, and LAUGHING ON THE OUTSIDE tells it about as well as possible. Knelman may devote too much time to analyzing the artistic merits of Candy’s films while giving his private life short shrift, but for all I know John Candy’s public and private lives may have been one and the same. Whatever its failings, I say LAUGHING ON THE OUTSIDE is the premiere John Candy biographical resource, outdoing the 2025 documentary JOHN CANDY: I LIKE ME in nearly every respect.