Comedy Month (2026) – John Candy Tribute

There will never be another John Candy. He was a legend and the reason the 80s and 90s are the greatest era of movies. The original plan was to watch the documentary, John Candy: I Like Me, as part of this tribute, but I ended up watching it around Christmas.

If you grew up in the 80s and 90s, then you will really appreciate the documentary. I highly recommend it. You learn that John Candy was truly one in a million. I immensely enjoy all of the movies on this list, but after watching this documentary, they also make me sad. The world was such a better place with him in it.

Check out the 2026 Comedy Month selections below.

Just before we get to the list, I want to point out that the first two movies are my favorite John Candy films. In fact, both of them made the list last year for 80s comedies. To be fair, I think most of these could be considered Candy classics.

• Uncle Buck (1989)
• The Great Outdoors (1988)
• Delirious (1991)
• Armed and Dangerous (1986)
• Only the Lonely (1991)
• Wagon’s East (1994)
• Random Movie: Eurotrip (2004)
• Bonus and Special Event Movies

Uncle Buck (1989)

Directed by: John Hughes
Starring: John Candy, Macaulay Culkin, Jean Louisa Kelly
My Rating:

Buck babysits his brother’s teenage daughter and her younger brother and sister. This movie is peak John Candy and John Hughes. I have so many fond memories of this movie growing up. This is one of those movies where, if I were channel surfing, and this movie was on, I’d leave it on.

Fun fact, Amy Madigan, who played Chanice, just won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Gladys in the 2025 horror movie Weapons.

The Great Outdoors (1988)

Directed by: Howard Deutch
Starring: Dan Akyroyd, John Candy, Stephanie Faracy
My Rating:

Chet takes his family to his favorite lakeside cabin only to be ambushed by his obnoxious brother-in-law. This is another movie that I’d leave on, should I stumble upon it while channel surfing.

Since this movie was also on the watch list last year, I don’t know what else I can say about it. If you haven’t seen it, go watch it. I could watch it ssssssix-six-sixty-ssssssix times! IYKYK.

Delirious (1991)

Directed by: Tom Mankiewicz
Starring: John Candy, Mariel Hemingway, Emma Samms
My Rating:

A writer for a cheesy soap opera takes a hit to the head and wakes up as a character in his own show. Yes, this movie is super cheesy, but it’s clearly on purpose. If you grew up in the 90s, then you know how cheesy those afternoon soap operas were, and this movie fully embraces that. It has a great, but relatively unknown supporting cast, from Dylan Baker to Raymond Burr and Charles Rocket. It’s a fun movie.

Armed and Dangerous (1986)

Directed by: Mark L. Lester
Starring: John Candy, Meg Ryan, Eugene Levy
My Rating:

A fired cop and an inept lawyer become partners when they sign up to be security guards and attempt to thwart the criminal activities of a corrupt union. Speaking of fun movies with a great cast, this is another one. I often forget how far back Eugene Levy’s career spans and how much of a staple he was in the 90s. I haven’t seen this movie in years, so I was due for a re-watch. It also has a great supporting cast with legends like Robert Loggia, Jonathan Banks, and James Tolkan.

Only the Lonely (1991)

Directed by: Chris Columbus
Starring: John Candy, Maureen O’Hara, Ally Sheedy
My Rating:

A Chicago police officer falls in love with a woman, much to his mother’s chagrin. This movie is a true gem. I have never watched it until now, and it’s a fantastic movie. It’s a comedy, but more of a rom-com, so we get to see a bit more of John Candy’s romantic side. The man was a true legend and a man of many talents.

A fun fact I learned: this movie is Maureen O’Hara’s final theatrical film. She is really great, which shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s Maureen O’Hara! Speaking of an amazing cast, this movie also has Kevin Dunn, Jim Belushi, and freaking Anthony Quinn. There is also a cameo from Macaulay and Kieran Culkin.

This movie was the biggest surprise of the month.

Wagon’s East (1994)

Directed by: Peter Markle
Starring: John Candy, Richard Lewis, Robert Picardo
My Rating:

A group of settlers decides they no longer enjoy life in the west and want to return east to St Louis. They hire the one wagonmaster willing to escort them back, but does he know what he’s doing?

I wouldn’t say this is a “Candy classic,” but it was his final movie. He passed away from a heart attack during filming. There are a few moments at the end where they reused footage (second bar scene) and used a stand-in. Parts of the movie had to be rewritten to accommodate his sudden passing.

As a result of the rewrite, he has so little actual screen time that it’s almost a stretch to call it a John Candy film. Also, the movie was not well-received, and many say it’s a tragic way to end his career. Honestly, I don’t think it’s that bad. John C. McGinley’s performance is fantastic. Really, everyone gives a great performance; I just enjoyed McGinley’s character the most.

Random Movie: Eurotrip

Directed by: Jeff Schaffer, Alec Berg, & David Mandel
Starring: Scott Mechlowicz, Jacob Pitts, Michelle Trachtenberg
My Rating:

After being dumped by his girlfriend, a high school grad embarks on an overseas trip in Europe. If someone were to ask me to name a Michelle Trachtenberg movie, this is the one I would think of. She tragically passed away about a year ago, so it’s a happy coincidence that this movie is the random selection. This film is one of those iconic millennial teen sex comedies, and it’s pretty damn funny.

I forget how much I actually quote this movie from “Scotty doesn’t know” to Fred Armisen’s “Mi Scusi” guy. There are also some great cameos from Vinnie Jones, Matt Damon, and Lucy Lawless.

I get that this probably won’t appeal to a lot of people just because of some of the gratuitous nudity, but that was the type of movie it was (i.e., teen sex comedy). Be that as it may, I still laughed my head off, so it’s going to fall under one of those guilty pleasure comedies.

Bonus and Special Event Movies

There is no bonus movie this month, although I hope to get out and see Project Hail Mary soon. March does have a few special event movies. The Big Lebowski is the only Day of the Dude selection, and for Mario Day, I went back to the 1993 cult classic. This year’s baseball Opening Day movie was A League of Their Own.

This is probably one of my top five favorite baseball movies. In fact, it is the most successful baseball movie of all time. You don’t have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this movie, simply because of Tom Hanks and Jon Lovitz (despite his limited screen time). I love that parts of it are filmed in Wrigley Field and there are frequent references to South Bend (my hometown). I have been to Cooperstown, and I have seen the AAGPBL exhibit, so this movie is fun for that reason as well.

And that’s it for comedy month. Thank you, John Candy, RIP. What is your favorite John Candy movie?

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