Saturday Night Live is back in full swing on the 2025 TV schedule following its star-studded 50th anniversary special, with Shane Gillis having returned as the host for February’s final ep. (Check out all the upcoming guest hosts here.) Gillis once again brought the laughs for his second time as host after being fired from SNL ahead of Season 45, and one sketch has been going viral due to fans getting major John Candy vibes. After rewatching with that context, I can’t unsee it.
When it comes to SNL’s commercial spoofs, you never know what insane product the series will introduce next, and a medication called Coupla Beers was right in line with past sketches. For the segment, Gillis was dressed to the nines, at least for the most part, and cheering on his “son” at baseball games. Not only is it a pretty hilarious sketch, but it’s yet another product SNL product that makes me laugh while kinda wishing it was real. Check the sketch out below:
As the sketch has gone viral, so many people have pointed out that Gillis looks strikingly similar to late comedian John Candy, best known for films such as The Great Outdoors, Uncle Buck, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and Spaceballs, among other projects. Candy had quite an infectious vibe and look to him from his early SCTV days until his death. Many people on X couldn’t get over the similarities with Gillis, with user Tedbrogan23 even posting a side-by-side of the two, and it’s truly uncanny:
Shane Gillis is the modern day John Candy #SNL50 pic.twitter.com/QMWyuQguskMarch 2, 2025
AmazingPopPod also shared a side-by-side of Gillis and Candy, surprisingly, both different screenshots from the ones that Tedbrogan23 posted. Proving even more just how alike the two are, and I can’t say I disagree:
Shane Gillis having serious John Candy vibes. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/NgWdLe4UJPMarch 2, 2025
Instead of just saying how alike Gillis and Candy are, maniacspodcast is taking it one step further, and I can’t stop laughing at how accurate the statement is, making me wonder if it really is true:
Shane looking like John Candy’s love child @Shanemgillis @nbcsnl pic.twitter.com/PULOTCHNn9March 3, 2025
Meanwhile, although there is not yet a John Candy biopic, that is not stopping people from still fan-casting it. Whether or not there will ever be one, there is certainly a good candidate to play him, and Tim_D_Morrill thinks Shane Gillis could be the perfect person to take on the iconic persona:
Could Shane Gillis play John Candy in a biopic?
It’s unknown if Gillis intentionally set out to look like Candy or if it was just pure coincidence, but either way, the consensus is clear. Even though he won’t be able to come close to Candy’s impact and legacy as a comedian, his appearance is still pretty spot-on, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he were to play him in a biopic someday. Or, at the very least, maybe he can take on a Candy impersonation the next time he hosts Saturday Night Live.
Fans can always judge for themselves if Gillis looks like Candy, either with the sketch on YouTube on the full episode streaming with a Peacock subscription. For now, there are plenty of musical guests and hosts for SNL‘s 50th season to look forward to.
