Ryan Reynolds, Auston Matthews get ripped apart by SickKids patients in new commercial

Canadian A-lister Ryan Reynolds has enlisted Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews and famous Leaf-hater Michael Bublé in a hilarious video created for a good cause — even if that cause can be loud and chaotic.

Reynolds — SickKids hospital’s celebrity ambassador — has started something of an annual tradition in a series of holiday-themed videos meant to drive support for the institution.

This year, the Deadpool star is supported by Leafs’ sniper Auston Matthews in a knee-slapper video urging donations to the Hospital for Sick Children, in spite of those children’s tendency to be screaming, violent “pr*cks.”

“Every parent knows that kids, while a magical gift from heaven, can kind of be pr*cks,” says Reynolds, with his trademark smarmy delivery. “But it’s hard for kids to be pr*cks when they’re sick.”

I love these little pr*cks. Support @SickKids today. pic.twitter.com/QjPWU0DZym

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) December 4, 2023

“We also want kids to get back to being themselves, which, you, know, is kind of a lot,” says Reynolds, leading into a montage of children being hilarious menaces, which culminates with a kid screaming in the face of Auston Matthews for a sustained nine seconds.

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The screaming child, who supposedly wanted to meet Michael Bublé, eventually gets to meet the crooner-turned-seltzer spokesman later in the video, only to throw another shrill tantrum over wanting to meet Anne Murray instead.

Lovely Kids 👀

— Piexchange.vn ⚡(π)⚡ (@PiexchangeV) December 4, 2023

And, yes. Reynolds’ signature ugly Christmas sweater makes a return in this year’s video after appearances in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

It’s not the first collab between Reynolds and Matthews, as the NHL star has donned Reynolds’ iconic gift-wrap Christmas sweater to support SickKids in the past.

Ryan Reynolds puts on ugly Christmas sweater to help SickKids https://t.co/Pzfnfw6igL #RyanReynolds

— blogTO (@blogTO) December 9, 2022

In 2019, Reynolds helped raise over $300,000, topping that figure in 2021 when he helped drive $850,000 in donations. In 2022, Reynolds helped raise another $580,000 for the medical institution.