The Big Picture

Eddie Murphy is back in the comedy game, starring in his “first” Christmas movie, Candy Cane Lane, under his three-picture deal with Amazon. While the film falls into the family-friendly fare category, it still delivers some laughs, but doesn’t fully utilize Murphy’s comedic talents. Candy Cane Lane may not be a standout Christmas movie, but it’s a light and fluffy option for a holiday movie night with the family.

It is nice to have Eddie Murphy back making movies consistently again. There aren’t many comics left making movies, especially not on the big screen. Kevin Hart is still around, Adam Sandler is churning out movies for Netflix, and Will Ferrell will headline the occasional comedy. However, those like Seth Rogen seem to have shifted away from making comedies and tend to work more on the producing side of things. Since the success and acclaim of Dolemite is My Name, Murphy has made himself comfortable leading comedies again for streamers like Netflix and Prime Video.

Candy Cane Lane is being marketed as the icon’s first Christmas movie (although Trading Places begs to differ), and it also marks the first film to fall under the comedian’s three-picture deal with Amazon. While Murphy’s movie career has had some major successes, such as Beverly Hills Cop, Coming To America, Dreamgirls, and Shrek, he has also been no stranger to starring in family-friendly fare. While some of us may claim that his takes on Doctor Dolittle and The Haunted Mansion are guilty pleasures, they also seemed to throw the comedian into a box, that it took going into semi-retirement to break out of. On the surface, Candy Cane Lane looks like it would fall right in line with those kinds of movies rather than something like 48 Hrs. It is also not a bad career move, Christmas movies are usually a guaranteed success for streaming services, regardless of their actual quality.

Candy Cane Lane Eddie Murphy stars in this holiday comedy adventure about a man on a mission to win his neighborhood’s annual Christmas home decoration contest. After Chris (Eddie Murphy) inadvertently makes a deal with a mischievous elf named Pepper (Jillian Bell) to better his chances of winning, she casts a magic spell that brings the 12 Days of Christmas to life and wreaks havoc on the whole town. At the risk of ruining the holidays for his family, Chris, his wife Carol (Tracee Ellis Ross), and their three children must race against the clock to break Pepper’s spell, battle deviously magical characters and save Christmas for everyone. Release Date December 1, 2023 Director Reginald Hudlin Cast Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jillian Bell, Nick Offerman, Ken Marino, Robin Thede, Chris Redd, D.C. Young Fly, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Danielle Pinnock Rating PG Main Genre Christmas Genres Family, Comedy, Adventure, Fantasy Writers Kelly Younger Studio(s) Imagine Entertainment Distributor(s) Amazon MGM Studios

What Is ‘Candy Cane Lane’ About?
Image via Amazon MGM Studios

Chris Carver (Murphy) is a man with the Christmas spirit of Clark Griswold from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. How could he not be? Especially when he lives on a street that is literally named “Candy Cane Lane,” which hosts an annual Christmas house decorating contest. Chris has always been a competitive guy, much to the chagrin of his wife Carol (Tracee Ellis Ross), but his motivational holiday cheer is threatened when he’s abruptly let go from his job. However, Chris sees an opportunity to save his family’s Christmas when it’s announced that the house decorating contest has gained a sponsor who will grant the winner a cash prize of $100,000.

Desperate to win, Chris and his youngest daughter Holly (Madison Thomas) stumble upon a mysterious Christmas pop-up shop run by the eccentric Pepper (Jillian Bell). Chris makes a deal with the mysterious stranger that he hopes will lead to him winning the contest, but unbeknownst to him, Pepper just so happens to be a mischievous runaway elf. The next day, Pepper casts a magical spell on Chris’ holiday decorations that bring the 12 Days of Christmas to life. Now, in a race against time, the Carver family must attempt to break the spell, or else Chris will become a holiday decoration himself.

‘Candy Cane Lane’ Is Exactly What You’d Expect
Image via Amazon MGM Studios

The best way to describe Candy Cane Lane is like if you took the original Jumanji movie and covered it with tinsel and Christmas ornaments. It’s mildly clever, but not to the level that it thinks it is. If you’ve seen the trailers or any of the marketing for Candy Cane Lane, you should know exactly what you are getting into. Reginald Hudlin, who directed Murphy in Boomerang 31 years ago, does a nice job at creating a cozy atmosphere that you would want and expect out of a Christmas movie, but there is not much else there outside some funky-looking CGI birds and TikTok references that feel dead on arrival.

It’s not that Candy Cane Lane is completely devoid of any laughs; Danielle Pinnock and Timothy Simons have some great one-liners as the hosts of a local news program, with D.C. Young Fly also getting some laughs as Pinnock’s influencer nephew. That being said, this is a movie that is headlined by one of the funniest men to ever grace the screen, yet the film never plays to Murphy’s greatest strengths as a performer. He is still effortlessly charming and has some excellent chemistry with Ross, Thomas, Genneya Walton, and Thaddeus J. Mixson, but the film never really knows what it wants to do with him. He’s not quite the straight man to the holly jolly hullabaloo, but he’s also not as zany and fast-talking either. Murphy is just there.

‘Candy Cane Lane’ Has Enough Cheer To Carry Itself Across the Finish Line
Image via Prime Video

Candy Cane Lane is not a particularly bad movie either. Kelly Younger’s script has a lot of warmth to it, and while some of the familial drama at the center of the film doesn’t feel necessary, there is rarely a cynical moment in the film. Although Ross’ character does work at a package distribution center, the name “Amazon” is never uttered, so the movie never feels too shameless or like an ad to use Prime to order Christmas gifts. Everybody in the cast looks to be enjoying themselves, and who are we to stomp on their fun? It’s Christmas after all.

Oftentimes, viewers will grade their Christmas movies on a scale, whether it’s fair or not; setting a movie during the holiday season is usually a safe bet to make audiences feel happy and comfortable. There are those all-time greats like It’s A Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story, but there are also those amusing but forgettable recent entries like The Christmas Chronicles or Office Christmas Party. Candy Cane Lane isn’t going to become a new Christmas staple that you’ll be adding to your annual holiday movie marathon, but it also isn’t nearly as bad as something like Fred Claus or Home Sweet Home Alone. It is perfectly average, and the movie doesn’t seem to see any problem with that either. If you are looking for a light and fluffy holiday movie that you can stream with the whole family while sipping on some spiked eggnog, you can do a whole lot worse than Candy Cane Lane.

Grade: C

Candy Cane Lane is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S. starting December 1.

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