Though he’s done movies, comedy sketches and animated specials set during the holidays, Eddie Murphy has never done a true Christmas movie. That all changes with Candy Cane Lane—premiering Dec. 1 on Prime Video. Murphy is Chris Carver, a man who takes his Christmas decorating very seriously. He makes a deal with mischievous elf Pepper, so he can win his neighborhood’s big contest. Chris’ deal with Pepper causes the 12 Days of Christmas to come to life. And as you can probably guess, shenanigans ensue. The chaos is presided over by director Reginald Hudlin, who spoke to The Root about working with Eddie and his on screen wife Tracee Ellis Ross.
Hudlin has known the comedy superstar for a long time, having previously worked together on Boomerang. He revealed that despite Eddie’s long career, there’s levels to his talent that audiences haven’t seen yet.
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“From the first time I worked with Eddie on Boomerang, I realized as much brilliant work as he’s shown us, he’s kind of like an iceberg. There’s all this other stuff underneath the water that we’ve not seen,” Hudlin told The Root. “I’m determined to always make sure we see those other sides of what Eddie can do. And even though they’re brief, there’s some really beautiful dramatic moments in this movie where we start to see a little bit of that other side.”
As 10 lords leaping, eight maids milking, seven swans swimming, and so forth begin to pop up in their lives, Chris’ supportive, yet exasperated, wife Carol jumps right into the craziness and takes charge. Eddie and Tracee are comedy pros, so even as the story gets progressively more ridiculous, they’re able to find a few understated, hilarious moments.
“The minute they’re together, you believe them as a loving couple. You believe them as parents who are really concerned about their kids,” he said. “And no matter what insane environment I would put them in, you believe them reacting to whatever we throw at them. That’s a really underrated, amazing actor.”
And to continue this year’s Black Santa theme, the film features an unforgettable St. Nick who is 100 percent unapologetically Black. Hudlin says his Santa “can ‘cue” and he “wears a short set in the summer.” He’s more Uncle Santa than the old fashioned, traditional version.
Candy Cane Lane may not go down as a Christmas classic, but it delivers a few fun moments and is something the family can watch together. Plus, another chance to shout out Black Santa is worth pressing play for.
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