What I’m watching: ’Tis the Christmas movie seasonDate: 12/18/2023 Christmas is right around the corner, so today, I am reviewing a trio of new Yuletide-themed releases that try to conjure the holiday season magic.
New on Amazon Prime: “Candy Cane Lane”
After losing his job, family man Chris Carver is determined to win his neighborhood’s annual Christmas decorating contest. He makes a pact with a self-proclaimed elf to help him triumph. The elf casts a spell that brings the 12 Days of Christmas traditions to life, ensnaring Chris in a chaotic quest to save his family and the holiday season in “Candy Cane Lane.”
Fans of comedic superstar/vulgar wordsmith Eddie Murphy can cite numerous indelible projects from his resume. For late-’90s children like myself, many ironically know Murphy best for his track record leading family films. Silly yet sincere comedies like “Doctor Doolittle,” “Daddy Day Care” and “Shrek” were not just cash grabs for Murphy; they provided the comedian with an expressive canvas for showcasing the affable side of his larger-than-life personality.
Following an extended absence, Murphy returns to the family film realm in Amazon Prime’s big-budget holiday comedy “Candy Cane Lane.” The film is undoubtedly a relic of the mid-2000s, which ran rampant with exuberant and eager-to-please family films. “Candy Cane Lane’s” adherence to familiar family feature traditions acts as a gift and a curse for this fantastical comedy. For what it is, though, this cheerful crowdpleaser draws enough holiday merriment to forgive its shortcomings.
Most family films exude buoyant, bouncing-off-the-wall energy as the driving force behind their brisk running time. “Candy Cane Lane” embraces a similar approach to its benefit. Director Reginald Hudlin keeps the film steering ahead like a roaring locomotive train, throwing a never-ending holiday blend of lavish special effects and sitcom-esque pratfalls to amuse viewers. Admittedly, this frenetic delivery style features its share of inconsistencies, yet Hudlin and screenwriter Kelly Younger always find a way to guide the film toward genuine truths. The film eventually culminates with a heaping of feel-good Christmas sentiments that resonate with heart and earnestness.
The star on top of “Candy Cane Lane’s” Christmas tree is its affable cast. Eddie Murphy still possesses a blazing comedic fastball, always finding ways to enhance the material through his vibrant personality. Murphy is consistently compelling as everyman Chris Carver, a man trying to save the Christmas season for his family despite his short-sighted focus on materialism. Tracee Ellis Ross makes for an endearing onscreen partner as Chris’s no-nonsense wife, and a slew of comedic character actors (Nick Offerman, Chris Redd and Jillian Bell) effectively imprint their distinct talents onto the material.
While no one will call it a new holiday classic, “Candy Cane Lane” infuses enough charm and ingenuity into the well-worn Christmas movie lineage.
New on Netflix: “Best Christmas Ever”
In hilariously ironic fashion, Netflix’s latest lethargic Hallmark ripoff, “Best Christmas Ever,” might be the most disposable Christmas-themed title I’ve ever seen. No matter how many B-tier actors or luminous Christmas lights shine onscreen, these distractions cannot hide the shockingly barren and charm-free final product that appears onscreen.
I struggle even to call “Best Christmas Ever” a feature film. There is a rough outline of a narrative here as we follow Charlotte (Heather Graham) and Rob (Jason Biggs), an aggressively milquetoast couple stuck going through the mid-life marital motions. In a bizarre twist of fate (or a dumb plot device, I’ll let you choose), Charlotte and Rob arrive at the home of college friend Jackie Jennings (Brandy Norwood). This anomalous occurrence sparks a week of mischievous pratfalls as the two families gradually rekindle over the holidays.
From there, the film becomes a never-ending treadmill, dispensing nonsensical comedic shtick and half-baked Christmas sentiments without considering their merits. Every facet here, from the Gap commercial visuals to the hackneyed screenplay, will only remind audiences of far superior holiday offerings. Not even the cast can inject much life into the proceedings. Showcasing Brandy Norwood’s effervescent charms is a fantastic foundation for any feature film, but the actress is awarded nothing to do within her thinly written role. Meanwhile, Heather Graham and Jason Biggs are constantly mugging for the cameras as the personality-free central couple.
I will conclude this by revealing my Christmas gift for readers — I reviewed the dreadful “Best Christmas Ever,” so now you can save time and avoid it at all costs!
New to Theaters: “Silent Night”
A new John Woo action film should be a Christmas gift for all. Woo, after all, stands as one of the genre’s most prolific voices. He has imprinted his slick, auteur sensibilities across decades of titles, consistently extracting a sunglass-wearing suave from countless explosive setpieces.
With “Silent Night,” a Christmas-themed actioner that honors its title through a dialogue-free approach,” Woo and company deliver coal down viewers’ stockings in a misguided shoot’em up.
On paper, a no-dialogue approach resonates with promise. Film remains a medium focused on showing, not telling a story. I applaud the creative team for attempting to reconjure the cinematic magic of silent-era features while providing a welcomed platform for an ASL-driven nature.
If only the worthwhile concept meshed on screen, because “Silent Night” unfortunately aims and misfires at articulating its promising perspective. Woo and screenwriter Robert Archer Lynn display a clumsy storytelling touch, often relying upon maudlin music and broad emotional strokes to elicit interest.
These devices feel extremely cloying, especially when the narrative tells its routine revenge story with somber self-seriousness. I do credit star Joel Kinnaman for elevating his generic everyman role through his sheer presence alone, but not even the actor can imbue any texture into the flatlining material. We are supposed to rally behind Kinnaman as Brian, a man drowning in grief from his son’s death and unable to vocalize his frustrations. Unfortunately, the film rarely depicts his emotional anguish with gravity.
“Silent Night” resembles an emotionally brooding bore during its first hour, cycling between mushy melodrama and tension-free cat-and-mouse pursuits. Then, out of nowhere, the final act resurrects itself as an arresting action romp. Woo rains down bullet-ridden bloodshed across several tense hallway shootouts. His kinetic verve behind the camera magnifies each encounter’s intensity. The frenzied framing dynamically shifts with each impactful movement, while Woo’s signature eye for adrenaline-pumping combat sequences is intoxicating to witness. These fleeting frames reminded me why I was excited to see Woo return to the director’s chair. If “Silent Night” stopped preaching didactic dramatic platitudes at the expense of Woo’s alluring action movie aesthetics, the final product would have satisfied the demands of its core audience.
As it stands, “Silent Nights” reminds viewers that commendable intentions can still result in a tedious experience. Woo fans, just watch the YouTube clips when this comes out on video.
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