WAGONS EAST

WAGONS EAST 

 C

It took me over 25 years to finally sit down and watch this film. As much as I loved John Candy, I could never bring myself to accept that this was going to be the last time I'd ever get to see him in anything. I have to say that for as bad as a rap as this film receives, it wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated.  

Yes it was corny.  The jokes were lame and predictable.  It didn't feel like a film you'd sit down and enjoy with your whole family. It felt more like the kind of film that you'd take your little boy or girl to and snooze through it while they laughed at the trivial humor.   

What I do have to give the film credit for, is its all star cast.  Not only John Candy and Richard Lewis, but Robert Picardo, Gailard Sartain, John C McGinley and others. The one thing this film did not lack was talent.   

I know that Candy's unexpected death caused for the film to have a lot of last minute rewrites. I wonder if it might have also taken the steam out of the cast and crew. I can't imagine what it'd be like to be working on a film when one of your costars passes away.  As well liked and loved as Candy was, I can only see that having a negative effect on everyone.  It would have been hard to continue.  Hard to carry on the work at a top level. I  think it can not only be seen but also felt that after Candy's sudden death, the energy was no longer there.  

This is often sold as Candy's worst film and while a fair criticism on the surface, I'm not sure if it remains fair within its depth.  What would this film have turned out to be had Candy not died? It's a fair question I think.  I highly doubt to the heights of UNCLE BUCK or THE GREAT OUTDOORS, but I imagine a better rating than what it got.     

If anything I wonder if other John Candy films watch this film with the same bit of resentment that I did. At no fault of its own, WAGONS EAST was the setting in which our beloved John Candy was taken from us. A reminder that it was here that he met his premature end.  A professional critic would certainly never admit that, but I'm not a professional.  I do.