Candy Cane Lane (2023)

Chris Carver wants the best-decorated house on the street — and an elf named Pepper is happy to help, for a price.

Laid off just before Christmas, Chris Carver throws himself into his neighborhood's annual house-decorating contest and its new cash prize. At a pop-up Christmas shop he makes a deal with the charismatic Pepper — who turns out to be a rogue elf whose bargains end with her victims transformed into plastic figurines. Her spell brings the 12 Days of Christmas stampeding to life across town, and Chris, his wife Carol, and their three kids have to break it before he joins Pepper's collection.

This was Eddie Murphy's first Christmas movie, and it plays like a family reunion: director Reginald Hudlin and producer Brian Grazer both worked with Murphy on Boomerang. The figurine village gives Nick Offerman, Robin Thede, and Chris Redd a second film inside the film, while David Alan Grier turns up as Santa himself. Under the chaos it is a story about a father who has lost his job trying to win his street instead of simply enjoying it.

From the Film

Cast

Good to know: Eddie Murphy's first Christmas movie reunited him with Boomerang director Reginald Hudlin and producer Brian Grazer; writer Kelly Younger based it on the real Candy Cane Lane of his El Segundo childhood.

Official Trailer

Official trailer via Prime Video on YouTube.

Official Clips

Clip via Prime Video on YouTube.

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