Empire October 1991 - Part I (Interview)

An interview by Frank Sanello with John about his career and his new film 'Only the Lonely' in the popular British film magazine 'Empire'.

I'd like to make some remarks on three passages in this interview :

1. "So she'd (Ally Sheedy) have no qualms about dating the big man (John) in real life? "Er, sure" "says Sheedy diplomatically." This is very suggestive, as if Ally didn't give an honest answer and as if no woman could be attracted by John.

2. "The Canadian-born actor could not, however draw on his own real-life experience." This is only partially true. It's true that John didn't stay with his mother till he was 38 but he did take the place of his father. He was making the decisions for his mother and older brother. You can read more about that in Martin Knelman's excellent John Candy biography: 'Laughing on the Outside'.

3. "....leading to initially disappointing leading man performances in Summer Rental and The Great Outdoors." I guess the interviewer speaks in box office terms, because John's performances itselves in 'Summer Rental' and 'The Great Outdoors' aren't disappointing at all. Especially 'Summer Rental' is a great vehicle for John.

In conclusion some remarks on the brief filmography:

Faceoff (1977), seems to me that should be 'Face-Off' from 1971, was deleted some time ago from John's IMDB listing and when I mentioned John to Canadian actor Art Hindle, who had a part in Face-Off, he told me he worked with him in the movie 'Speed Zone'. Art didn't mention 'Face-Off'. So it's difficult to determine if John has a part in this movie. If so, it would take the place of 'Class of '44' (1973) as John's movie debut.

Strange Brew (1983). This movie stars John's SCTV colleagues Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis as the McKenzie Brothers. As far as I know, John doesn't have a part in this picture.

'One Wild Night' (1990) is an alternative title for 'Career Opportunities', most probably for the UK. John has a very nice cameo in this John Hughes movie. Click the article to read it in full size.