John Belushi. Gilda Radner. Phil Hartman. Chris Farley. John Sweet. Robin Williams. These are simply a number of the comedic geniuses we misplaced far too quickly. A number of of those shiny lights of hilarity have been honored within the type of numerous documentaries and retrospectives honoring the memorable work they did earlier than passing away. However now, it is John Sweet’s flip.
This fall sees the discharge of a documentary produced by fellow Canadian star Ryan Reynolds and directed by “Orange County” and “The Provide” actor Colin Hanks, who has a novel relationship with the “Uncle Buck” and “Planes, Trains & Cars” star because of his father Tom Hanks’ massive display screen historical past with the comedy legend.
The movie is named “John Sweet: I Like Me,” referring to one among Sweet’s most heartfelt and memorable strains from the aforementioned vacation traditional, which was written and directed by John Hughes and co-starred Steve Martin. As you may see within the trailer (which you’ll be able to watch above), everybody appeared to love John Sweet. From Invoice Murray to Catherine O’Hara to Steve Martin, everybody who labored with him has one thing good to say. However because the trailer hints, there was a tragic unhappiness behind Sweet’s jovial and pleasant character.
Even so, the legacy Sweet leaves behind is an attention-grabbing one. Regardless of dying at 43 years previous in 1994, Sweet is not continuously remembered in the identical approach that John Belushi and Chris Farley had been, each occupying an analogous comedic area within the public eye and each having died from drug overdoses of their 30s. In the meantime, Sweet died of a coronary heart assault, one thing he suspected would occur prior to later, having misplaced his father to the identical tragedy when he was simply 5 years previous. However as we’ll quickly see, Sweet’s legacy deserves to be equally celebrated.
The place you’ll be able to watch John Sweet: I Like Me
In a latest interview with IndieWire, Hanks expressed his hesitation to make the movie due to his private relationship to Sweet as a toddler, which started on the film “Splash,” starring his father Tom Hanks. The youthful Hanks recalled his preliminary thought:
“I met him, I’ve these reminiscences of him, I do not know if I need to dig into that. I might a lot reasonably simply have these reminiscences versus spend nevertheless many months or years of my life now gathering different individuals’s reminiscences and going from there.”
But it surely was the encouragement from John Sweet’s now-adult youngsters, Chris and Jen, that lastly pushed him to make the movie. Hanks mentioned:
“I do not need to put phrases of their mouth, however they let it’s identified that it was their opinion that they felt like I used to be one of many solely guys that may do it. Then that simply made me go like, OK, effectively, let’s set myself apart right here and do some digging.”
Mix that with Ryan Reynolds getting concerned as a producer and telling Hanks he ought to direct it, and right here we’re with what seems to be to be a touching, trustworthy, and wonderful documentary about John Sweet, that includes fantastic reminiscences, anecdotes, and extra from those that had been fortunate sufficient to be a part of the restricted time he had on the planet.
“John Sweet: I Like Me” is taking part in on the Toronto Worldwide Movie Competition this week because the opening night time movie, however audiences will be capable of see it quickly sufficient, with a launch date set for October 10, 2025 on Prime Video.
