Can Eddie Murphy Save Christmas? Critics Say No

Candy Cane Lane, a movie that sees Eddie Murphy play a man with his heart set on winning his neighborhood’s Christmas home decoration contest, premieres on Prime Video December 1.

Reginald Hudlin, former BET entertainment president, directs the movie.

When Murphy’s Chris makes a deal with a mischievous elf named Pepper to improve his chance of winning, she casts a magic spell that brings the 12 Days of Christmas to life and wreaks havoc on their town. At the risk of ruining the holidays, Chris must race against the clock, and battle deviously magical characters, to save Christmas.

Jillian Bell plays Pepper and Tracee Ellis Ross plays Chris’s wife Carol. Thaddeus J. Mixson, Ken Marino, Nick Offerman and Robin Thede are also in the cast.

The film, rated PG, is produced by Brian Grazer, Murphy, Karen Lunder and Charisse Hewitt-Webster.

Reviews have been mostly negative. CNN called Candy Cane Lane boring. “Having Eddie Murphy star in Candy Cane Lane – a basic, indeed boring Christmas movie – is a bit like driving a sportscar to the local supermarket: While the vehicle will get the job done, it’s an unnecessary level of horsepower for the task at hand, which, in this case, involves bringing family-friendly eyeballs to Amazon Prime,” the review said.

The Daily Beast advised, “Keep Eddie Murphy away from Christmas at all costs.”