Candy Cane Lane

• Directed by Reginald Hudlin
• December 1, 2023
• Amazon Prime Video

A man determined to win his neighborhood’s annual Christmas decorating contest makes a pact with an elf to help him win unaware of the elf rigging the bargain.

I should have known what to expect before I watched it but Eddie Murphy’s name gave me hope. Candy Cane Lane is one of those Christmas movies featuring an obsessed father and his neglected family who inexplicably stand behind him even though there are points when he could probably care less about them. You are left trying to figure out why they love him other than he HAD a good job and gave them things. He gets fired in the opener.

Chris Carver (Eddie Murphy) in desperation to win what he thinks is $100,000 inadvertently signs a deal with a nasty elf (Jillian Bell) who is really seeking to torment him in an effort to teach him the true meaning of Christmas. But she does that by making him sign a long receipt that is actually a Faustian contract in a randomly placed store that clearly should not be where it is in sunny Southern California.

Eddie Murphy turns in a similar performance to any number of films where he’s played the father. And nothing near as good as something like Trading Places or even Coming 2 America. He does not need to be a revelation but when you toss in magic and mayhem it should be more than generic neglectful dad.

Eddie Murphy’s character does not so much learn a lesson as he is forced to listen to the family he neglected. That’s fine I guess but I am not too sure how that is a Christmas message. And him losing his job, well, if you do not realize he will end up working for Santa (David Alan Grier) in some way before the credits roll then I cannot help you.

Jillian Bell as the villainous former Santa elf Pepper strikes the right tone with her character. She is off kilter and a bit detached from reality. Her evil is dangerous but not menacing. And as an actress she provides much more humor than Murphy does.

Included in the cast of characters are also two television hosts-Emerson (Timothy Simons) and Kit (Danielle Pinnock)-who are part of the whole cable extravaganza that is this once neighborly and friendly contest. They were disconnected from the main narrative with their appearances more like Family Guy side gags. Emerson’s regret over life choices that led him to hosting this and Kit’s detachment from reality were funny and should have been played up much more.

Much like the “twist” with Chris I wasn’t totally surprised that the $100,000 prize pushed from the opener was actually comically dumb prizes totaling $100,000 with the big surprise being free tacos at a local taco restaurant. That last bit was humorously shocking but if you have seen enough of these kind of movies you know that the initial statement is not always the correct statement.

Visually Candy Cane Lane is relatively creative. Especially when it comes to the glass figurines that are animated. This was clearly CGI, but they do a nice job of making it look like it stop motion. And the touches with the traditional ornaments is excellent.

This movie is not terrible. Just nothing great. Given the talent and premise this had potential, but it was fumbled. It won’t get you in the holiday spirit, but it will entertain. It will put some smiles on your face and you’ll be impressed with the visuals. I just wanted something more absurd that highlighted the unusual things that go along with Christmas. That along with some message about family.

What came across to me about Candy Cane Lane was that the people behind it have the mind Christmas is just the time of year where the funny decorations come out. It does not take a strong stand either way on much of anything. This is not a loving poke at the family time element or the decorations or the traditions or any other holiday elements that for any other time of the year would be ludicrous. It is perfect comedy fodder but would be something unnoticed by those with no invested interest in the season. As such it could very nearly take place during any other holiday just by adding in a magical entity. Move it to St. Patrick’s Day and this could be a comedic addition to the Leprechaun series. Hey…

Christmas Vacation mocked what could happen when your relatives show up for Christmas. A Christmas Story is how you can find a good Christmas even at the worst of times no matter what. Even Office Christmas Party took the office Christmas party to the absurd extreme. As I said this just doesn’t seem to be taking a stand on much of anything.

I’m just trying to figure out how they squeezed nearly 2 hours out of this. I think 30 minutes could have easily been cut to create a tighter story and focus on the jokes. Some scenes such as the finale to beat Pepper went on too long or Pepper sneaking into Chris’s workshop to do…nothing went nowhere.

Candy Cane Lane will never be a Christmas classic, but it is adequate. It’s just funny enough and just visually good enough that you won’t feel as if you wasted your time. It is not worth seeking out though.