Eddie Murphy’s acting output has been small in the past five years compared to the whole of his career, but he made a return in 2023 with Your People in January and the Prime Video original Candy Cane Lane in December. If you can get past the insanity of the plot, you and your whole family will enjoy Murphy’s new festive feature.
‘Candy Cane Lane’ Premise
Candy Cane Lane follows Chris Carver (Murphy), a California husband and father who, after losing his job, enters a Christmas decorating contest for a prize of $100,000. He signs a contract with an elf named Pepper (Jillian Bell), giving him magic to win the contest, but putting him on the hook for turning into a glass Christmas figurine if he doesn’t find the golden rings mentioned in “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Chris enlists the help of his entire family to hold up his end of the bargain.
The Good, the Bad, and the Holiday
The premise of the film is absolutely insane upon reading, but within the context of the film, it’s only a little nutty. The other figurines in the film are darling – they’re played by familiar faces like Nick Offerman and Chris Redd and have fun names like Pip and Lamplighter Gary, respectively. The rest of Chris’ family have sneakily festive names, too – Carol, Joy, Nick, and Holly. “The Twelve Days of Christmas” aspect is sort of unnerving, but in a fun, Night at the Museum-y way. The details are bizarre even by Christmas movie standards, but it works.
There’s plenty about Candy Cane Lane to genuinely enjoy, though. Tracee Ellis Ross is a great counterpart to Murphy. There are appearances from the underappreciated Ken Marino and Timothy Simons. David Alan Grier offers a good modern take on Santa Claus. And the aesthetics are surprisingly pleasing for a California Christmas.
Still from ‘Candy Cane Lane’
Consider Candy Cane Lane a Christmas version of The Haunted Mansion. No, the plots are not the same (The Haunted Mansion makes way more sense), but they are similar in that kids are going to enjoy this movie far more than adults. If you go into it expecting a Dreamgirls-level performance or Shrek-level humor from Murphy, you’ll be disappointed. But if you prepare yourself for holiday fun that your entire family can enjoy, you’ll be satisfied. Candy Cane Lane might not join your list of yearly re-watches, but it’s entertaining to see once.
Candy Cane Lane is streaming now on Prime Video.
