John Candy lived to make us feel better

Last Christmas, I was overcome by the sudden urge to watch “Home Alone.” Not the wildest or most unexpected impulse, given the season, but I’d shockingly only seen the classic once before in my life, and needed a healthy dose of ’90s phthalo green nostalgia to kick my holiday into high gear. To my great surprise, I had no memory that John Candy had a stellar bit part in the film as a modest Midwestern polka player. The cameo made the smile that was already stamped across my face grow even wider. Before long, I found myself following “Home Alone” up with “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” another Candy comedy I hadn’t seen in years. And though I found it less charming than I remembered, I still wept during the unforgettable third act, when Candy’s obnoxious shower ring salesman, Del Griffith