"I Like Me."

"It's the face you put on the world that defines who you are. The face he puts on the world is friendly and happy. And you could be mean, or insult people, or fight back. But he didn't."

Steve Martin, speaking of John Candy.

I'm watching tonight "I Like Me," a documentary about the life of John Candy.

I'll admit I wasn't much into movies or actors or much of that stuff when I was younger. I'd watch television, and go to an occasional movie. But it's stuff that just happened and I was occasionally interested in it.

But John Candy. Well, I saw, maybe, a bit of myself in him, or someone I wanted to be.

Still, I watched his movies at random, not really seeking him -- or anyone else -- out.

Then came Uncle Buck.

The lovable, down-to-earth oaf. Maybe that was something to aspire to.

He was human. He wasn't cool or flashy. He was honest and real and funny. He was something I wanted to be: At ease with himself and with what he was doing. I'm still looking for that, and it's hard to do. John Candy made it look easy.

"He stuck acting in his back pocket and behaved like a human being."

Mel Brooks, on John Candy

He was kind. But didn't brook nonsense, whether it was someone talking down to a kid or someone being unsure about what they wanted to do.

He'd probably tell me to write that book, and stop dittling around with writing. Just write the thing. Do it. Don't try to do it. Do it.

"I grew up with someone who was already a successful actor. Who had made it. The thing that was so big, and such a big secret, was that he didn't believe in himself. How fucking human is that?"

Chris Candy, John Candy's son

It *is* human. It's me.

Maybe that's why I love John Candy so much.

I want to say, like him, "I like me." But I'm not there yet. Working on it.

"I dreamed about him more than I ever dreamed about my parents after they died. And one of the first dreams I had about John, we were just hanging out and laughing and talking and doing bits, and it was really funny. And I said something like, 'Aww, why'd you have to die?' And he said 'Why'd you have to bring it up?'"

Catherine O'Hara, speaking of John Candy

"You're a fairly funny guy."

"Well thank you, and so are you. That's a nice thing to say to somebody. 'You're a funny guy.' It's better than saying 'you're a jerk.' I'll take funny guy any time. 'You know, you're an ass. Thank you.'"

An interviewer and John Candy