Prime Video fans rip into Eddie Murphy’s new film branding it ‘the worst Christmas movie I’ve ever seen’
PRIME Video fans are not impressed with Candy Cane Lane and are letting their feelings be known.
The news that Eddie Murphy, 62, was starring in his first ever Christmas comedy initially delighted fans, but now they wish he’d never bothered.
Candy Cane Lane revolves around Eddie Murphy’s character, Chris and his family in the lead up to Christmas. The movie also stars acting heavyweights like Nick Offerman, Jillian Bell, Tracee Ellis Ross, C. Young Fly, Danielle Pinnock, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Ken Marino, Robin Thede and Chris Redd.
Per the film’s official synopsis: “Eddie Murphy stars in this holiday comedy adventure about a man on a mission to win his neighbourhood’s annual Christmas home decoration contest.
“After Chris (Eddie) inadvertently makes a deal with a mischievous elf named Pepper (Jillian) to better his chances of winning, she casts a magic spell that brings the 12 Days of Christmas to life and wreaks havoc on the whole town.
“At the risk of ruining the holidays for his family, Chris, his wife Carol (Tracee Ross), and their three children must race against the clock to break Pepper’s spell, battle deviously magical characters and save Christmas for everyone.”
This unusual take on a Christmas movie is exactly what veteran director Reginald Hudlin wanted.
He revealed that he wanted to make a movie that was unique and set itself apart from other holiday movies.
“That’s what was driving us. We wanted to be as original as possible, maintain the value systems that make you want to watch a Christmas movie, but beyond that, feel free to blow things up,” he explained during an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment.
However, according to critics and fans, the movie missed the mark.
The Guardian was one of many outlets to give the film a poor review. Giving it a two out of five star rating, the outlet said: “The star, along with Tracee Ellis Ross playing his wife, does his best but Amazon’s increasingly convoluted family film wears thin.”
Many other reviews followed suit, giving the film a 40% critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes.
Fans agreed with the rating, with one posting on the movie rating site that Candy Cane Lane was “trying way too hard to be a classic Christmas movie.”
They continued: “This film needs to go back on the shelf and never be seen again. And 20 minutes could easily have been cut from the film.”
Another said that even with the stacked cast, the movie failed to live up to expectations.
One said: “Great cast, but a weirdly put together movie that I couldn’t see being anyone’s Christmas classic.”
“I thought it’d be a great movie, Eddie Murphy can’t go wrong, but my God it was boring. I couldn’t finish it,” another added.
A third viewer ripped into the movie, saying: “Probably the worst new holiday movie in the last 10 years. Nothing feels good about it,” x said, while another rated it one of five.
“Worst Christmas movie I’ve ever seen,” slammed a fifth.
However, some viewers rushed to the defence of the Shrek star’s holiday flick.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one said: “Don’t believe the reviews it’s actually a little cute film and has some funny bits 8/10.”
“This is such a feel-good movie,” another agreed.
“I love me some Eddie Murphy, and his chemistry with Tracee Ellis was so natural. I’d actually watch it again,” added a third.
Candy Cane Lane is available to stream on Prime Video now.