TORONTO – In Ryan Reynolds' mind, there's no bad John Candy movie. And he would know – Reynolds has been a lifelong fan of that fellow Canadian, and produced the new documentary "John Candy: I Like Me."
One role, though, hits Reynolds unlike all others: Del Griffith, the salesman who gives marketing man Neal Page (Steve Martin) fits when they become accidental travel buddies in John Hughes' 1987 road-trip comedy "Planes, Trains and Automobiles."
"It's the mix of vulnerability and pride in that performance. He's prideful, that man. It's not a typical color to play in a comedy like that, but it works so perfectly in concert with Steve's exasperation," Reynolds says. "Neal just wants to get home. And we all relate to that, right? And Del just wants to talk. Just wants to be with someone. That's the one for me, just galvanized him in my mind."
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Making "I Like Me" (streaming Oct. 10 on Prime Video), Reynolds and "I Like Me" director Colin Hanks even discovered a missing scene from the end of the movie with Del and Neal at the train station. "It's beautiful, (but) I get why they cut it out," Reynolds says. "John Hughes' son found that in the Paramount locker, which I'm so happy to have."
