I’ve been doing something I don’t often do: I’ve been going back and watching some ‘80s comedies that I haven’t seen in years, like She’s Having a Baby, from writer and director John Hughes. The movie, which is available with a library card and a Kanopy subscription, stars Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern as a young couple expecting their first baby (as the name of the movie implies). One thing I totally forgot about was all the cameos at the end, including the late, great John Candy.
He’s Even Playing A Famous Character
At the end of the film, there is a cavalcade of stars throwing out baby name ideas for the couple. Of the stars (and there many), only three are in character. Two of those are Candy and Dan Akyroyd, playing their characters from another film, The Great Outdoors, which Hughes wrote and was filming around the same time as She’s Having a Baby. The third is another classic Hughes character, Ferris Bueller, played by Mathew Broderick. All three are, predictably, funny, but Candy is especially charming.
Candy is great in lead performances, like Chet Ripley in The Great Outdoors, but he’s also really, really good as a supporting character. It’s that ability to be both that makes his cameo so great. His wide smile, and subtle silliness is classic John Candy. You have to believe his lines during the quick cuts from star to star were improvised. It really feels like the kind of humor he was known for early in his career on SCTV, much of which was improvised.
Among A Huge Parade Of Stars, Candy Stands Out
Of all the stars, his two quick lines stand out the most. It really says something about how big his presence was, and remains to this day. As I said, I didn’t remember that detail in the movie, but I’ll bet his appearance stood out at the time, too. It’s not like the star power wasn’t off the charts, though. Magic Johnson, Kirstie Alley, Ted Danson, Woody Guthrie, Michael Keaton, the drummer from The Police - Stewart Copeland, lead singer of The Go-Gos - Belinda Carlisle, Olivia Newton-John, singers Roy Orbison and Warren Zevon, Wil Wheaton, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, and many more appear in the final bit of the movie.
It’s hard to stand out with comedic stars like Bill Murray, Penny Marshall, Harry Anderson, and Bronson Pinchot, but Candy does. He completely lights up the screen, just as he did in all his best roles over the years before he died at age 43. It’s little reminders like this one in She’s Having a Baby that keep him in the cultural zeitgeist, 30 years after his tragic death. I didn’t expect it, and yet, this cameo is what made me smile as wide as Candy did when it happened.
We all miss Candy, but it’s also comforting to know that we can still be surprised by him, even in roles he's less remembered for.
