Ryan Reynolds and family enjoy a movie night under the stars at Muskoka Drive-In

It’s not every day that a movie star couple shows up at your small-town drive-in movie theatre with their kids.

But in mid-August that’s what happened at the Muskoka Drive-In in Gravenhust, Ont. Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and two of their children were hosted by theatre owner William Alexander.

“Blake kept talking about how she was super excited to be at the drive-in and she wanted to see the snack bar and the whole nostalgic feel of the place,” Alexander told local newspaper, MyMuskokaNow . “Ryan was talking about his first experience of (a) drive-in.”

Alexander said it was fun to see them as a family watching a movie. He kept interactions to a minimum to prevent them from getting overwhelmed by fans.

“I think with all the stuff that they’ve had going on in their lives lately, they’re entitled to a night without paparazzi … without people bugging them,” said Alexander.

Reynolds is a Vancouver native, sometimes known as Hollywood’s Captain Canada . He is in Ontario this time around as executive producer of the Toronto International Film Festival’s opening-night selection , “John Candy: I Like Me,” a documentary about the late Canadian comedian.

Reynolds says John Candy was ahead of his time. He has had a firsthand look at the legacy Candy left behind after his death in 1994 at age 43 from a heart attack.

A new understanding of Candy’s past gave Reynolds a fresh perspective about the “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” star. Candy was candid during his life about suffering from anxiety and panic attacks, something that wasn’t generally done back then , notes Reynolds.

“I know I have some of those traits … people-pleasing and mental health . They don’t coexist very well together at all, because you never want to burden anybody else with anything. You never want to be a problem for anybody else,” Reynolds says.

The opening night gala was ripe with Canadian pride , which is not always the case at TIFF, according to Variety Magazine, despite it’s annual presence amid the Toronto arts scene.

Candy grew up in Toronto before his breakout with sketch comedy TV show, SCTV. He eventually became one of the most in-demand comedy stars of his generation, thanks to such films as “Stripes,” “Splash,” “Spaceballs,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” “Uncle Buck” and “Cool Runnings.”

Reynolds wore a T-shirt emblazoned with a Canadian maple leaf to the gala.

He was joined onstage by the film’s director Colin Hanks, whose father Tom worked with Candy on “Splash,” as well as Candy’s two children, Jennifer and Christopher.

Ahead of the documentary’s screening, Prime Minister Mark Carney made a surprise appearance. While speaking to the audience, he made a reference to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff standoff with Canada, adding that Candy was at his best when he was pushed by a bully and then stood up to him.

“Don’t push a Canadian too far,” Carney told the crowd.

• How Reynolds convinced Murray and Aykroyd to appear in John Candy documentary
• John Candy's loved ones on his enduring legacy, 25 years after his death

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