Reteaming with Eddie Murphy after the romantic comedy hit “Boomerang” in 1992 was natural for Reggie Hudlin who directs this delightful family drama which stars Murphy as Chris, a father of 3, who gets laid off from his job just a few days before Christmas. With his eldest daughter heading off to college, Chris wants to make Christmas extra special this year and signs up for the neighborhood contest which is awarding $100,000 to the best decorated house.
With the stakes higher this year, Chris is keen to win and when he discovers a pop-up Christmas store in his neighborhood with its spectacular window displays, he makes a deal with an elf named Pepper (Jillian Bell) to better his chances of winning the contest. Unfortunately for Chris, Pepper is a mischievous Santa’s elf who goes rogue and puts a curse on the family. It becomes a race against time as Chris, his wife Carol (Tracee Ellis Ross), and their three children try to break her spell and save Christmas for everyone. They embark on a series of adventures involving obstacles, battles with neighbors, plenty of milky mayhem and a couple of slapstick injuries as they attempt to stop “Santa’s Little Devil” from destroying Christmas.
Hudlin directs with speed, humor and efficiency, Murphy still has that charismatic charm and there are plenty of memorable one liners and comical characters that include D.C. Youngfly who plays Josh the boss, a young reporter and David Alan Grier as Black Santa, who previously worked with Murphy in “Boomerang.”
“The same way ‘Boomerang’ really captured where we were in our lives, ‘Candy Cane Lane’ is the same thing,” shares Hudlin. “What we wanted to do was an original Christmas movie, something you’ve never seen before, something where people go ‘Wait a minute, this is Christmas, but boy, that was a cool action sequence. We’ve made a movie that we both really have a personal investment in.” says Hudlin.
It’s an extravagant Christmas movie that also stars Thaddeus J. Mixson, Ken Marino, Nick Offerman, Robin Thede, Chris Redd, Genneya Walton and Madison Thomas.
There’s something about holiday films that bring out the best in people and this festive flick set in California’s Candy Cane Lane with its moral message of being careful of what you wish delivers.
With a runtime of 108 minutes, the PG Rated drama premieres globally on Prime Video December 1.
Samantha Ofole-Prince/ Photo Credit Claudette Barius
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