Summary
It is a fun family holiday film with a refreshing concept that hasn’t been done before. A fantasy comedy that definitely delivers on the magic.
Since Dolemite Is My Name, Eddie Murphy has released new films almost every year. He is one of the funniest comedians and shines in family-friendly films. Everyone has grown to love his dry sarcasm combined with cheesy humor. This time, in Candy Cane Lane, Murphy goes full Christmas mode to warm the hearts of many families to get them in the Holiday spirit.
The Christmas film is streaming on Prime Video and is fun for the whole family. The most impressive thing here is the concept of the film because of the characteristics of the family unit and decorating the house for a competition felt generic and oddly familiar. However, writer Kelly Younger subverts expectations and changes the story in a fresh new way.
It’s categorized as a fantasy comedy because of the bit of magic that is bestowed upon the Carver family days before Christmas Eve.
Candy Cane Lane review and plot summary
Chris Carver (Eddie Murphy) and Carol Carver (Tracee Ellis Ross) live the perfect life and have three wonderful children; Joy (Genneya Walton), Nick (Thaddeus J. Mixson), and Holly (Madison Thomas). If it wasn’t clear, the whole family is named after Christmas carols or significant names of objects. Right off the bat, we find out that Joy wants to go to Notre Dame, but her parents want her to go to USC. Nick is more interested in music than school, and Holly just loves Christmas. The family isn’t as tight-knit as Carol and Nick think until Nick gets laid off from his job.
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Nick is a father who does everything on his own, and he doesn’t like asking for help, including decorating the house for Christmas. He takes it very seriously because of the Candy Cane Lane competition, and his neighbor Bruce (Ken Marino) has won 4 years in a row. Chris loves Christmas and he so desperately wants to win. Conveniently, this year there is prize money involved, and Chris could win $100,000 to help out with his current financial situation after being laid off.
To have the perfect house Chris and Holly go shopping at all the superstores only to find out that the majority of the decorations are sold out. So as they drive they see a little shop under an overpass called “Kringles.” Chris enters and sees that this pop-up shop is decked out with tonnes of holiday decorations. They also meet an elf named Pepper (Jillian Bell), who sells them a perfect Christmas tree with gorgeous ornaments. Chris explains to her that he needs to win the Candy Cane Lane prize money and she encourages him that he will win with this tree. He signs the receipt and with a bit of magic the tree lights up the whole town and he is the front-runner.
Without spoiling the concept of the film because it is very well-written and not too on the nose, the tree has ornaments from the song “The 12 Days of Christmas.” Instead of worrying about his house winning, he has to track down the ornaments because they mysteriously disappeared.
RELATED: Is Candy Cane Lane suitable for the whole family?
Just for the concept alone of the song being used in a fantastical way, Candy Cane Lane is fun for the whole family. Murphy and Ellis-Ross are a dream team and have wonderful chemistry. The banter between the family is fun and Murphy’s comedic timing is for sure to get a chuckle out of anyone.
Is Candy Cane Lane worth the watch?
It is filled with Christmas magic and a heartfelt realization that family is the most important thing you can have during the holidays. It’s not the gift giving, it’s not having the most decorated house on the street and it’s not about the money, it’s about sharing the magical moments that Christmas brings.
Once the concept of the film turns to Charles Dickens village and porcelain dolls for help, the CGI is so effective and works incredibly well with the live-action. The carolers were fun and had so much personality added a lot to Murphy’s line delivery.
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