Myers is what I call an ‘apprecianist,’ a documenter of the semi-forgotten or undervalued ... His writing tends to be straightforward and simple, meant to root the material in the extensive interviews he uses to make his case ... John Candy: A Life in Comedy...allows us to immerse ourselves in a comic actor who has been largely forgotten since his death ... Myers makes a solid case that Candy’s gravitas was rooted in how much the real man shared with his characters ... The fact that Candy existed in the pre-TMZ era gives Myers ample space to maneuver this material tastefully ... Myers also does an excellent job showing the symbiotic nature of Candy’s relationship with John Hughes ... What A Life in Comedy does best, though, is give us an excuse to luxuriate in YouTube clips and easily streamable films.
Paul Myers makes the case that the actor...was more than a good-natured goofball ... The book efficiently sketches the troubled personal background that gave rise to those reserves of actorly sensitivity ... Mr. Myers deserves credit for obtaining fresh interviews...but he leans too heavily on them ... All the same, the book makes clear Candy’s ample gifts and barely tapped potential.
For all its sad ending, fans of John Candy will delight in Myers’ comprehensive biography ... An affectionate portrait ... What emerges again and again, along with Candy’s impeccable work ethic, was his generosity.
