Composer Tyler Strickland Shares How the French Horn Captures John Candy’s Journey Through Life’s Challenges

The recently released documentary, John Candy: I Like Me, pays tribute to the comedic legacy of John Candy by drawing inspiration from his iconic performances in films such as Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Uncle Buck, Spaceballs, and Splash.

Directed by Colin Hanks and produced alongside Ryan Reynolds, the documentary benefits from the active participation of Candy’s children, Jennifer Candy-Sullivan and Christopher Candy.

Tyler Strickland at Deadline’s Sound & Screen Television

“The biggest challenge for scoring this film was that we’re making a film about a movie star. He’s this larger-than-life character both on and off screen,” said Strickland. “I think it was really important to write a score that felt triumphant for him in all of these roles and everything that he accomplished in his career, but is also scalable down to this more intimate moment as a father, as a husband, and as someone who was struggling on the daily with his grasp on mortality.”

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Strickland was introduced to Hanks by producer Sean Stuart; he was already a fan of Hanks’ work, including his role in All Things Must Pass.

“When Colin and I started talking about this film, the idea was, ‘Let’s make this feel like a John Candy movie from the ’80s: fun, a little quirky.’ But as we started receiving interviews from Catherine O’Hara, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray—his closest friends—we realized we had a different film on our hands, one that required a different musical approach,” he explained.

Strickland continued, “The French horn, which tonight — as I’m surrounded by a million musicians, I hope it came through — plays a significant role in the score. It feels like a solitary instrument for John, echoing the valor he portrayed throughout his life, almost like a soldier navigating the battle of life.”

John Candy: I Like Me features a range of voices sharing Candy’s story through previously unseen archival footage and interviews. Alongside O’Hara, Aykroyd, and Murray, the film includes insights from Mel Brooks, Tom Hanks, Macaulay Culkin, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Martin Short, and Chris Columbus, among many others.

A panel discussion video will be available Monday.