Candy Cane Lane

Regardless of its shortcomings, Candy Cane Lane is a frenzied family friendly film as overstuffed as a Christmas stocking, as nutty as a chestnut, and, ultimately, as warm as an open fire.

Everyone seems like they’re genuinely having fun, but they’re trapped in a less interesting movie than the one they could have made, the one just out of frame.

Clearly, the goal was to make a visually opulent Christmas movie, but these visuals end up sucking up much of the film’s life and spirit. It de-emphasizes the human element, and it makes the movie too long.

Murray occasionally shows flashes of his comic genius, but only flashes.

If you are looking for a light and fluffy holiday movie that you can stream with the whole family while sipping on some spiked eggnog, you can do a whole lot worse than Candy Cane Lane.

When it comes to holiday movies, Candy Cane Lane isn’t at the very bottom of the pack, but it’s far from the top. . . The narrative careens through uncompelling territory before ending on a forgettable note.

These movies are rarely much more than background noise for holiday decorating/entertaining/cooking, or TV babysitting for parents trying to manage all that grownup stuff. Candy Cane Lane doesn’t offer much even for those being baby-sat, either.

Genuinely unique holiday movie with unexpected moments and beats. Very, very fun, as well as hilarious. However some things do feel a little forced.

Poucas coisas me agradaram aqui, e o pouco que se salva está relacionado a quesitos técnicos mesmo. "Candy Cane Lane" vem para mostrar como o Eddie Murphy está muito longe de entregar todo o seu potencial, em parte pela limitação cênica, mas em grande parte pela limitação do roteiro mesmo. Embora a situação de uma competição natalina seja um absurdo aceitável, é impressionante a preguiça do roteiro. Primeiro, a família consegue de forma instantânea acesso a uma árvore e apetrechos natalinos, facilitando toda a competição (de fato, não há competição, quebrando a premissa ao meio). Aí a trama investe na manutenção daqueles apetrechos, postos em risco pois o Chris, personagem do Murphy, assinara um contrato sem ler, delegando à vilã certo controle sobre os objetos, o que incluía condições bem bobinhas para o Murphy e a família correrem atrás (teriam que ir em busca de certa quantidade de anel de ouro). Interessante como o "Wonka" também se valeu de uma trama onde o personagem principal assina um contrato sem ler, mas enquanto no filme do dono da fábrica de chocolate a imersão funcionava, aqui há bem pouca criatividade. Gosto da paleta de cores, e a loja natalina quase deixa enganar pela suntuosidade dos detalhes da direção de arte, mas é uma pena que é pouco explorada. Os bonecos falantes (e dançantes), mesmo com um design fofo, ficaram adoráveis, mas seria necessário um estágio com "Toy Story" para torná-los mais interessantes. Assim, toda a trama é conduzida com um desinteresse absurdo, além do típico clichê como o estreitamento dos laços familiares, a busca por valores não materiais, o sentido de comunidade fortalecido ao final. Tudo isso poderia passar despercebido se ao menos o timing cômico funcionasse, o que não é um caso. É um filme totalmente medíocre e esquecível.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Candy Cane Lane is basically Deck the Halls with magic. Eddie Murphy plays an over-enthusiastic Dad, who plays Christmas more than anything else in the world. This year, in an attempt to win the best decorated house on Christmas, he purchases some novel decorations from a newly opened shop only to face serious repercussions. Candy Cane Lane is a movie that would have worked 20 years ago (even that is a maybe). Eddie Murphy is the guy who gave us a Christmas classic in Trading Places and for someone who has had a recent resurgence in his career, it is surprising he took up this dated script. Even Tracee Ellis Ross inclusion came as a surprise. A sheer waste of talent. Candy Cane Lane is just lame with no redeemable factor except the fact that they wasted a lot of talent; even Nick Offerman is in it!

This movie feels like an AI wrote it. Everything felt disconnected. The characters were flat at best, but mostly just annoying. Half of the movie was just people arguing or driving or giving girl boss speeches. It feels like Prime tried to do the Apple thing: big corp making fun of big corp and capitalism. They horribly missed the mark. This movie was a crash grab, nothing more.