A Christmas bonanza that is not despite the gifted Eddie Murphy
film: Prime Video: Candy Cane Lane
Director: Reginald Hudlin
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jillian Bell, Thaddeus J Mixson, Ken Marino and David Alan Grier
Mona
The season to imbue oneself in some joyful Christmas spirit is here, and the Eddie Murphy-starrer comes at the right time. The story opens in a friendly yet fiercely competitive neighbourhood. The Candy Cane Laners are big on Christmas and don’t shy away from going all out.
The Carver family must outbeat the Bruces. Chris Carver (Eddie Murphy) fears it could be their last Christmas together as their oldest, Joy, leaves for college soon, and three days before the big day, he is laid off. The best house here wins $1,00,000 and the game is on!
With ‘Trading Places’ to his credit, expectations from Eddie Murphy are huge, and ‘Candy Cane Lane’ struggles hard to live up to it. Still, let’s start with the strong suit. Reginald Hudlin’s directorial charts a familiar plot and has a lot packed in, from family dynamics, parental approval and commercialisation taking over Christmas spirit, to discrimination and gender parity. It’s a story set in our times and has lots of current cultural references. For instance, the elf taking Chris to task for ‘humansplaining’ (mansplai-ning), Santa is black and world peace, ending hunger and saving the polar bears figure on the Christmas wishlist. Also, lots of movie references pepper in some fun.
Dialogues are funny (‘Thugs also need to hug’) and didactic (‘Live everyday as if it’s Christmas’).
In the acting department, Murphy leads from the front, even if he’s not as iconic as his previous outings. He is joined by the rest of the cast: Tracee Ellis Ross playing the clever, capable woman of today; Madison Thomas as the sweet little baby girl Holly; Jillian Bell as the evil elf Pepper; and Ken Marino as the nosy neighbour Bruce. Full disclosure: acting is over-exaggerated, keeping up with the ostentatious sets. The story maintains its ‘what’s on the inside is more important than on the outside’ tenor. The animation — there are little folks living in the doll house — is passable.
On the downside, in each department, it fairs average. Nowhere, except a scene, does it give you real tension or a heartwarming moment. At two hours, at least twice one feels the film is over, but carries on. Also, touted to be a family movie, the use of innuendos seems out of place.
Wouldn’t hurt to watch it once though for ‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year…’
