Eddie Murphy makes his Christmas movie debut

Eddie Murphy made his Christmas film debut with ‘Candy Cane Lane,’ a story premiering this Friday that mixes action, comedy and fantasy based on neighborly rivalry over a decorating contest.

“I thought that if I was going to make a film about Christmas It had to be unique. The script is written in a very special way and I’ve never seen a Christmas movie like this,” Murphy said at a press conference attended by EFE.

After losing his job, Chris Carverfather who lives in El Segundo, California, is excited about the possibility of winning a contest to reward the house with the best Christmas decorations in his neighborhood.

His desire to beat his neighbor and regular champion of the competition for years leads him and his daughter Holly to visit an extravagant Christmas store, where he buys a package from a mysterious woman that promises to make him the ultimate winner.

“In real life, I don’t look like Chris at all, he is a very desperate man, but we have in common that I am a person who is very attached to the family,” the 62-year-old actor answered EFE’s question. .

After receiving your order, carver becomes involved in a spell cast by an elf called Pepper (Jillian Bell) that if he doesn’t stop before Christmas, he might end his life as he knows it and turn it into a little Christmas ornament.

The Prime Video story, written by Kelly Younger (‘Muppets Haunted Mansion’, 2021), is based on her own childhood experience living with a father who “over-decorated” his house and was a Christmas enthusiast.

“My parents lived in El Segundo and we visited ‘Candy Cane Lane’ (Christmas lights trail) every year. I think I had a kind of magical childhood without knowing there was another way to grow up,” Younger admitted in an interview with EFE.

Carver will fight to defeat Pepper along with his entire family, which consists of his own wife Carol (Tracee Ellis Ross), her daughters Joy (Genneya Walton) and Holly (Madison Thomas), and her son Nick (Thaddeus J. Mixson), while experiencing tense moments where action, comedy, and even suspense will blend into one experience.

“Sometimes movies Christmas They can be a bit limited and only relate to one thing. There’s comedy in this one, there’s music, there’s scares, there’s jokes, there’s action, but ultimately there’s a lot of heart,” Younger said.

Selected cast

This is also a first Christmas movie in which director Reginald Hudlin participates, and it is his second collaboration with Murphy, with whom he worked in 1992 on the film ‘Boomerang’.

“One of the amazing things about working with Murphy is that you can have the cast you dream of, I’ve got Tracee Ellis Ross, Nick Offerman, Robin Thede and there’s another actor, who I can’t mention yet, that I’ve worked with before and I thought it was time to get the band back together.” , Hudlin assured EFE.

The film, which focuses on an African-American family, is also re-discovery physical stereotype some classic characters of the holiday season.

Furthermore, Hudlin’s career was strongly associated with the national team The African American community in the United Stateswith films such as ‘House Party’ (1990) or ‘The Great White Hype’ (1996), or his work as president of entertainment at Black Entertainment Television.

“I think it’s important for everyone to see all kinds families that exist, because at the end of the day, yes, we are all unique in our own special way, but families are universal,” he asserted.

Ultimately, the director hopes that people, in addition to having a good time, will be able to think about the true meaning of Christmas after watching his film.

“The surface part Christmas As gifts and decorations, it’s wonderful, but the most important thing is love. And if you have love, you have everything you need,” he pointed out.