Halle Berry attends the European Gala Screening for Amazons: ‘Crime 101’ at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on January 28, 2026 in London, England. Photo: Kate Green/Getty Images for Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Academy Award winner Halle Berry is one of the most accomplished and beloved actresses of her generation.
First appearing in supporting roles in now classic movies like ‘Jungle Fever‘, ‘The Last Boy Scout‘, and ‘Boomerang‘, Berry won an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in 2001’s ‘Monster’s Ball‘, becoming the first and only Black woman to ever receive that honor from the Academy.
Not to mention starring in critically acclaimed movies like ‘Losing Isaiah‘, ‘Bulworth‘, and ‘Could Atlas‘. Her latest, the new crime thriller ‘Crime 101‘, opens in theaters on February 13th.
In honor of the new film’s release, Moviefone is counting down the 20 best movies of Halle Berry’s long and impressive career, including her latest.
(L to R) Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman in ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
When a cure is found to treat mutations, lines are drawn amongst the X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), and the Brotherhood, a band of powerful mutants organized under Xavier’s former ally, Magneto (Ian McKellen).
In this new psychological thriller/horror, as an Evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother (Berry), and her twin sons (Percy Baggs IV and Anthony B. Jenkins) is their house and their family’s protective bond. Needing to stay connected at all times – even tethering themselves with ropes – they cling to one another, urging each other to never let go. But when one of the boys questions if the evil is real, the ties that bind them together are severed, triggering a terrifying fight for survival.
Terrorists hijack a 747 inbound to Washington D.C., demanding the release of their imprisoned leader. Intelligence expert David Grant (Kurt Russell) suspects another reason and he is soon the reluctant member of a special assault team that is assigned to intercept the plane and hijackers.
Several players from different backgrounds try to cope with the pressures of playing football at a major university. Each deals with the pressure differently, some turn to drinking, others to drugs, and some to studying.
Jordan Turner (Berry) is an experienced 911 operator but when she makes an error in judgment and a call ends badly, Jordan is rattled and unsure if she can continue. But when teenager Casey Welson (Abigail Breslin) is abducted in the back of a man’s car and calls 911, Jordan is the one called upon to use all of her experience, insights and quick thinking to help Casey escape, and not just to save her, but to make sure the man is brought to justice.
(L to R) Halle Berry, John Travolta, Don Cheadle and Hugh Jackman in ‘Swordfish’. Photo: Warner Bros.
Rogue agent Gabriel Shear (John Travolta) is determined to get his mitts on $9 billion stashed in a secret Drug Enforcement Administration account. He wants the cash to fight terrorism, but lacks the computer skills necessary to hack into the government mainframe. Enter Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman), a n’er-do-well encryption expert who can log into anything.
Khaila Richards (Berry), a crack-addicted single mother, accidentally leaves her baby in a dumpster while high and returns the next day in a panic to find he is missing. In reality, the baby has been adopted by a warm-hearted social worker, Margaret Lewin (Jessica Lange), and her husband, Charles (David Strathaim). Years later, Khaila has gone through rehab and holds a steady job. After learning that her child is still alive, she challenges Margaret for the custody.
A suicidally disillusioned liberal politician (Warren Beatty) puts a contract out on himself and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters by affecting the rhythms and speech of hip-hop music and culture.
The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods as they join forces with their younger selves in an epic battle that must change the past – to save our future.
James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is sent to investigate the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul, who is funding the development of an international space weapon.
(L to R) Chris Hemsworth and Halle Berry star in ‘Crime 101’. Photo Credit: Merrick Morton.
Set against the sun-bleached grit of Los Angeles, ‘Crime 101’ weaves the tale of an elusive jewel thief (Chris Hemsworth) whose string of heists along the 101 freeway have mystified police. When he eyes the score of a lifetime, his path crosses that of a disillusioned insurance broker (Berry) who is facing her own crossroads. Convinced he has found a pattern, a relentless detective (Mark Ruffalo) is closing in, raising the stakes even higher. As the heist approaches, the line between hunter and hunted begins to blur, and all three are faced with life-defining choices–and the realization that there can be no turning back.
Marcus (Eddie Murphy) is a successful advertising executive who woos and beds women almost at will. After a company merger he finds that his new boss, the ravishing Jacqueline (Robin Givens), is treating him in exactly the same way. Completely traumatized by this, his work goes badly downhill.
Two mutants, Rogue (Anna Paquin) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), come to a private academy for their kind whose resident superhero team, the X-Men, must oppose a terrorist organization with similar powers.
When an attack on the Kingsman headquarters takes place and a new villain rises (Julianne Moore), Eggsy (Taron Egerton) and Merlin (Mark Strong) are forced to work together with the American agency known as the Statesman to save the world.
When the girl (Berry) that detective Joe Hallenback (Bruce Willis) is protecting gets murdered, the boyfriend (Damon Wayans) of the murdered girl attempts to investigate and solve the case. What they discover is that there is deep seated corruption going on between a crooked politician and the owner of a pro football team.
(L to R) Keanu Reeves and Halle Berry in ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’. Photo: Lionsgate.
Super-assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) returns with a $14 million price tag on his head and an army of bounty-hunting killers on his trail. After killing a member of the shadowy international assassin’s guild, the High Table, John Wick is excommunicado, but the world’s most ruthless hit men and women await his every turn.
A successful and married black man (Wesley Snipes) contemplates having an affair with a white girl (Annabella Sciorra) from work. He’s quite rightly worried that the racial difference would make an already taboo relationship even worse.
Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his team of genetically gifted superheroes face a rising tide of anti-mutant sentiment led by Col. William Stryker (Brian Cox). Storm (Berry), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) must join their usual nemeses—Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn)—to unhinge Stryker’s scheme to exterminate all mutants.
(L to R) Tom Hanks and Halle Berry in ‘Cloud Atlas’. Photo: Warner Bros.
A set of six nested stories spanning time between the 19th century and a distant post-apocalyptic future. ‘Cloud Atlas’ explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future.
‘Candy Cane Lane’ is a comedy adventure for the family, filled with holiday cheers, hilarious hijinks, and the importance of communicating and working together as a family. What starts off as a friendly neighborhood Christmas decorating contest quickly turns into chaos as Chris Carver crosses paths with a mischievous elf with a naughty agenda.
Yes, this movie is technically Eddie Murphy’s first Christmas movie. While the actor’s expansive filmography includes titles such as ‘Coming To America’ and ‘Trading Places,’ in which both movies take place during the holiday season, ‘Candy Cane Lane’ fully embraces everything surrounding the holiday and its themes.
When asked what it is about this Christmas movie that he loves so much, Murphy said:
Eddie Murphy: I thought that script was unique, and I thought that it had all the elements that you’re supposed to have in a Christmas movie where you could watch it over and over again. I know the movies that I watched, the Christmas movies, we watched them every year all the time, and I thought this could be one of those kinds of movies that families could revisit.
2. Eddie Murphy and Reginald Hudlin reunite 30 years later for ‘Candy Cane Lane’
(L to R) Reginald Hudlin and Eddie Murphy attend Amazon Studios Candy ‘Cane Lane World’ Premiere in Los Angeles on Nov 28, 2023.
The pair first worked together on the 1992 rom-com ‘Boomerang.’ Hudlin had been interested in making a Christmas movie and learned during a meeting with Amazon that Murphy was also interested. Everything aligned for the actor and director to reunion 30 years after their first collaboration.
Reginald Hudlin: Yeah, we had been talking, we would connect and we would throw ideas back and forth. And then, I was meeting with Amazon and I was like, “I really want to do a Christmas movie.” “We have a Christmas movie and Eddie Murphy wants to do it.” I’m like, “Let’s start Monday.” It’s not complicated.
Eddie Murphy attends Amazon Studios ‘Candy Cane Lane’ World Premiere in Los Angeles on Nov 28, 2023.
Eddie Murphy: But actually, he put together this great presentation, the best I’d ever seen anybody put together, and how he would do the movie and stuff. It was like, “Hey, this is a no-brainer. He just saw the whole thing from the beginning.”
3. Tracee Ellis Ross on ‘Candy Cane Lane’ capturing all the elements of a Christmas movie
Tracee Ellis Ross attends Amazon Studios ‘Candy Cane Lane’ World Premiere in Los Angeles on Nov 28, 2023.
Playing opposite Eddie Murphy’s Chris Carver is Tracee Ellis Ross as Carol Carver. During the press conference, Ross talks about what defines an iconic Christmas movie for her.
Tracee Ellis Ross: I think love, family, and a message that’s at the center of it, which we have in this movie, that the family comes together to conquer a bad elf, a rogue elf, so to speak. I think the thing that’s special about this movie is it’s an adventure comedy Christmas movie. It’s funny, there’s adventure. As I said, there’s hijinks, action, children, lots of lights and decorations, special effects, Eddie Murphy. These are a lot of the elements, but it’s a good story that has all these elements on it, and we hope that it becomes a holiday classic.
4. The younger cast was horrified on their first day on set, for the best reasons possible
Genneya Walton attends Amazon Studios ‘Candy Cane Lane’ World Premiere in Los Angeles on Nov 28, 2023.
Rounding out the Carver family are Thaddeus J. Mixson as Nick Carver, Genneya Walton as Joy Carver, and Madison Thomas as Holly Carver. ‘Candy Cane Lane’ isn’t their first acting job, but it is their first time working with a legend such as Eddie Murphy.
Genneya Walton: First of all, I was horrified for the best reasons possible. I was like, “Girl, you better have your stuff together.’ I think my first day was on the track scene.
Speaking to Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross, she says:
“I look up to you guys so much, and I’m inspired by all of your work, so getting to work with you guys is wonderful, and I learned so much truly, just from watching you guys do what you do, so it was freaking sick.”
Co-stars Mixson and Thomas express the same sentiment.
Thaddeus J. Mixon: I’ll tell you right now, boy, I was nervous. I was nervous. I ain’t know what, I was just like, man, I was just watching y’all on TV. Now, I’m about to actually share the screen with y’all. It is truly an honor for real. I’m blessed to even have the opportunity to even work with y’all. And also, work with Reggie as well. I worked with him on my first ever movie, so it’s always fun when I work with him, so it’s a blessing.
Thaddeus J. Mixson attends Amazon Studios ‘Candy Cane Lane’ World Premiere in Los Angeles on Nov 28, 2023.
Madison Thomas: Yeah, I was very nervous because I didn’t know what was happening. I didn’t know anything. I’m going to be honest. I didn’t know anybody. But then, we started working more on set and then I kind of felt comfortable, and then that’s how we started building a relationship.
Madison Thomas attends Amazon Studios ‘Candy Cane Lane’ World Premiere in Los Angeles on Nov 28, 2023.
5. Jillian Bell as the mischievous elf, Pepper
Jillian Bell attends Amazon Studios ‘Candy Cane Lane’ World Premiere in Los Angeles on Nov 28, 2023.
When Eddie Murphy’s character Chris comes across a mysterious Christmas decor store, he is enthralled by the elaborate and magical items. However, the store was run by Pepper- a mischievous elf who liked to play tricks on unsuspecting customers.
Bell elaborates on what drew her to the character.
Jillian Bell: The first time I read the script, I just kept talking like her out loud, which is a good sign. It’s a bad sign if you’re not an actor. As an actor, it was a good sign to me because I just kept doing her voice. And I was like, “Oh, there’s something here.” And I just fell in love with the world of it. I was so excited for the opportunity to get to work with everybody that was involved and I just think Reggie is one of the kindest, most wonderful directors, and — you guys can attest this too, like, if you have a creative idea and you’re nervous about it. There’s no nerves attached, approaching Reggie with it. So I think I think after our first meeting, I was like, oh, no, I really want to do this film.
Tracee Ellis Ross and Robin Thede chimes in about Bell’s performance in the film:
Robin Thede: The brilliant thing about Jillian Bell is that she does bring that humanity to these characters and exactly what Kelly [Younger] had envisioned, which is that she’s not just a one-note evil person. She truly believes in what she’s doing and like, you get it like. I don’t think that I thought I was rooting against Pepper. I was just like, “Oh, well, obviously you can’t win, but like you’re kind of like misguided. She’s also really fun, and evil and violent, and all of that. But there’s just some really epic acting moments, too.
Robin Thede attends Amazon Studios ‘Candy Cane Lane’ World Premiere in Los Angeles on Nov 28, 2023.
Tracee Ellis Ross: Jillian Bell is… Yes. Seriously, that moment when she appears in this, you’re just like, “What is happening? And why does that twinkle in her eye actually look like evil in her eye?”
And as Pepper says in the movie, “What’s Christmas without a little terror?”
Nick Offerman (‘The Last of Us’) plays Pip, a man who’s been turned into a porcelain miniature figure by Pepper. He stars alongside Robin Thede’s Cordelia and Chris Redd’s Lamplighter Gary, who have also fallen to the same fate.
Offerman was not present at the press conference, but his co-stars praised his performance.
Robin Thede: Nick Offerman talks, everything stops.
According to Hudlin, it was Offerman’s idea to keep his character British.
Reginald Hudlin: First of all, Nick was just like, “You know, there’s always British actors and play American parts. I’m gonna play a British part.” I was like, “Oh, that’s great.” Because again, I just wanted the three village people, as we call you guys as different as possible, right? And it’s just like, I’m like, “Okay, I don’t know, my son’s gonna take this because like, he’s so ‘Parks and Rec.’ He’s so locked in.” I’m like, “But, you know, Nick Offerman’s a genius. We’re gonna let him do this.” And he just found a new hilarious character and the way he played off the two of you was exquisite.
Jillian Bell: His first line was very reminiscent of ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles.’ And my heart broke for him. And I’m like, he literally has been on screen for 10 seconds. I’m in I’m invested. I mean, I was invested in the tiny version of it, but I’m saying just his face too, like, he is an incredible actor, and he should be in so many.
7. The script is inspired by a personal story, minus the evil elf
(L to R) Eddie Murphy and Kelly Younger attend Amazon Studios ‘Candy Cane Lane’ World Premiere in Los Angeles on Nov 28, 2023.
Writer Kelly Younger based the story on his personal experience as well as the location.
Kelly Younger: It is a personal true story. My parents live on the street that leads into Candy Cane Lane and El Segundo. They’ve lived there for many years. My dad over-decorates every year, goes over the top, much to my mother’s dismay.
He continues:
Kelly Younger: I wanted to bring in magic and mischief and to have lot of fun, but it was really important to me that it was grounded in a real family. And I think especially what Eddie and Tracee did, how they captured what felt like a very real relationship. And this family felt very, really real. To have these folks bring it to life is just wonderful.
8. The process of blending live-action and CGI together
Inside Pepper’s shop, Chris Carver comes across a miniature Christmas town, along with miniature figures – Pip, Cordelia, and Lamplighter Gary, who come to life. The cast talks about the process of making those scenes come together.
It took the special effects team from ILM and teamwork from the cast and crew to blend the human actors and the porcelain figures together in the final product. Hudlin talks about working with ILM:
Reginald Hudlin: They had face references but not body references, and [the actors] came up with all this fantastic physical comedy on top of the great verbal comedy, and that was amazing. It was a great collaboration working with them on that.
Eddie Murphy: Yeah, when you see the special effects shots and stuff like that, those things are really time-consuming and it’s awkward, and it’s just a lot of work doing a sequence like that. It’s really putting a jigsaw puzzle together when you’re doing those sequences, so it was just long and frustrating.
(L to R) Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross attend Amazon Studios ‘Candy Cane Lane’ World Premiere in Los Angeles on Nov 28, 2023.
Tracee Ellis Ross: Yeah, because you’re acting with an imaginary thing, and it requires a different kind of acting.
Although Offerman, Thede, and Redd are playing CGI characters, Murphy wanted everyone on set together for every scene to make it more authentic.
Reginald Hudlin: The very fact that I didn’t intend for us to have to invent some technology, but we did. We had this reindeer system so that the actors, the villagers, and the live-action actors could act in the same scene at the same time and improvise.
Reginald Hudlin attends Amazon Studios Candy ‘Cane Lane World’ Premiere in Los Angeles on Nov 28, 2023.
Chris Redd: We were in these little booths. And like, so the animators could create, like, animate while we talked, and that was some different ways to see each other, so we were just riffing the whole time.
Chris Redd attends Amazon Studios ‘Candy Cane Lane’ World Premiere in Los Angeles on Nov 28, 2023.
Robin Thede: The cool thing about the process, which was so fun, is that Eddie was really like, “No, I want them on stage with us rehearsing in person”, right in our full size, although I’ve not much taller than my ornament. But that was really fun. So I was saying earlier, like, we were really involved in most of the scenes in the movie, even if you don’t see us on screen, because it was really important to Eddie and Tracy and the kids and everybody that we were there and bouncing off of them just in case we were going to jump in. So all those conversations where we’re at the house or they were at their house or whatever, we were there for months because it was important to really get that vibe, and I think you feel it because they were looking at just lights or like little monopoly pieces. So we would rehearse in person, and then we would be banished to our little sound booths, but we could see them on a monitor, and they could hear us in their IEMs. And then they would shoot our faces with like a GoPro.
9. The cast on working with Eddie Murphy
(L to R) Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross attend Amazon Studios ‘Candy Cane Lane’ World Premiere in Los Angeles on Nov 28, 2023.
The cast talks about being fans of his work and about their experience working with him on ‘Candy Cane Lane.’
Tracee Ellis Ross: The thing about Eddie is he’s hilarious. But, what makes everyone hilarious around him is he’s a really generous actor. For Eddie, it’s about the groundedness, which is the reason that I have loved his comedy for so long. It’s not based in being funny. It’s based in being real. And so, there’s a connection that has to be there for it to come across in the right way, and that’s what he does. He’s not sitting there trying to get you to set up his funny and his jokes. He’s actually in a scene playing with you. That’s what makes it fun, and that’s what makes it work. I think, I mean, I don’t know about you guys, but that’s what I experienced, and what a treat and an honor at this point in my career to be able to work with somebody that you’ve admired, whose work you’ve known and grown up with to a certain extent.
Tracee Ellis Ross attends Amazon Studios ‘Candy Cane Lane’ World Premiere in Los Angeles on Nov 28, 2023.
Reginald Hudlin: This is the thing. The thing is, I’ve always said that Eddie deserved an Oscar for his performance in ‘The Nutty Professor.’ Because it’s like there’s no acting school that says this is how to act against a tennis ball, but he did that. He played two different women that were completely different women, but because people go, “Oh, it’s just laughs. It’s not funny. That’s not hard.” It’s incredibly hard. He was a pioneer in that style of performance, which he doesn’t get credit for.
D.C. Young Fly attends Amazon Studios Candy ‘Cane Lane World’ Premiere in Los Angeles on Nov 28, 2023.
D. C. Young Fly: If you sit back and watch all the different elements and understand like, just Christmas, and specials, and understanding that Eddie is an icon. It’s just being around that it brings that out of us, you know what I’m saying? I feel like everybody was just trying to be on their A-game because this is an Eddie Murphy movie. Why wouldn’t we come here and not be on our A-game?
Chris Redd: I swear to God, the first day, I think I wrote fifteen jokes on the way to set, just like “I might use them.”
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What is the Plot of ‘Candy Cane Lane’?
A local neighborhood hosts an annual contest over who has the best decorated home for Christmas; desperate to win, Chris Carver (Eddie Murphy) makes a deal with a charismatic stranger, Pepper (Jillian Bell), for the use of magic to make his home the most festive. He soon learns that Pepper is an evil elf who has made similar deals in the past, with her victims being transformed into plastic dolls. Chris must rally his family to stop Pepper from unleashing misery upon his friends and neighbors and break the deal before he loses everything.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Reginald Hudlin about his work on ‘Candy Cane Lane,’ his first reaction to the screenplay, reuniting with Eddie Murphy and if his process has changed at all since ‘Boomerang,’ the challenges of mixing live-action with VFX and animation, making a Christmas movie and if he is ready for the film to become a holiday must-watch.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Hudlin, screenwriter Kelly Younger, and Production Designer Aaron Osborne.
Moviefone: To begin with, what was your first reaction to Kelly Younger’s screenplay, and can you also talk about the challenges of making a Christmas movie?
Reginald Hudlin: When I first read Kelly Younger’s script, I loved it. My only real note was, as crazy as this is, we don’t go far enough. So, I said, “Let’s make it even crazier.” We had a great time. Whenever you make a Christmas movie, there’s certain expectations, right? So, you’ve got to have great Christmas music, you’ve got to have an emotional impact on people, and you’ve got to have amazing decorations. So, I doubled down, if not tripled down on all that stuff. Then we added elements that you would never normally see in a Christmas movie to make people go, “Whoa, I’ve never seen anything like this before.” So, have your cake and eat it too.
MF: What was it like reuniting with Eddie Murphy, what does he bring to a role like this, and has his process as an actor changed at all since you worked with him on ‘Boomerang’?
RH: Eddie was perfect for this because he’s a family man. He’s like the rest of us. He’s decorating the house and making sure that all the family have great presence. So, we were both very much in the same mindset of we love Christmas, we love Christmas movies, and here’s our contribution. So, we’re doing it from a point of view of, we relate to this character 100%, which is key to me when you make a movie like this. Eddie just keeps getting better, honestly. When you’re sitting in the editing room and you’re watching his performance, both comedically and dramatically, you just go, “Boy, he’s great at his job.” Eddie Murphy is an amazing actor. When people do comedy, they go, “Oh, that’s easy.” It would be the opposite of easy. It’s harder.
MF: Can you talk about your use of VFX in the movie and mixing live-action with computer animation?
RH: It was so much fun. I’ve been dying to work with ILM, Industrial Light & Magic, all those amazing folks. Man, they had so much fun. We were just feeding off each other like, “What about this? What about that?” We had these great vocal performances from these world-class actors, Nick Offerman, Robin Thede, Chris Redd, and then they took that stuff and then added the physical comedy on top of it. So, we were just like, “Oh my God.” We’re all having the best time.
MF: Finally, how do you feel about the idea of ‘Candy Cane Lane’ becoming a holiday tradition and a movie that audiences watch year after year?
RH: When we made the movie, we were like, “Look, let’s pack it with so many jokes, so many visual things going on that you’ve got to see it more than once just to catch all the stuff.” So, it’s all there for you. We start December 1st, but you can watch it all 25 days.
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What is the plot of ‘Candy Cane Land’?
A local neighborhood hosts an annual contest over who has the best decorated home for Christmas; desperate to win, Chris Carver (Eddie Murphy) makes a deal with a charismatic stranger, Pepper (Jillian Bell), for the use of magic to make his home the most festive. He soon learns that Pepper is an evil elf who has made similar deals in the past, with her victims being transformed into plastic dolls. Chris must rally his family to stop Pepper from unleashing misery upon his friends and neighbors and break the deal before he loses everything.
Eddie Murphy is starring as a man looking to win a holiday house decoration competition.
Jillian Bell, Tracee Ellis Ross, Thaddeus J. Mixson, Ken Marino and Nick Offerman co-star in the new film.
The new movie will see Murphy working with director Reginald Hudlin and producer Brian Grazer for the first time since 1992’s ‘Boomerang’.
Outside of the ‘Shrek’ world’s TV specials, Eddie Murphy hasn’t exactly been known for his holiday output.
That’s all set to change this Christmas as he debuts new family comedy ‘Candy Cane Lane’ which finds the star fully embracing the warmth (and in this case, chaos) that is usually associated with thoughts of Santa, reindeer and elves.
And the world of competitive home decoration is also a rich one to explore, featuring plenty of rivalry (heck, there’s even a whole TV reality series about people looking to put up the best display).
Which means that unless you’re of a grinchy disposition, you’ll welcome the first batch of photos from the movie, featuring Murphy dealing with the unique blend of a magical deal and a very famous Christmas song.
Murphy stars in this holiday comedy adventure about a man on a mission to win his neighborhood’s annual Christmas home decoration contest.
After Chris (Murphy) inadvertently makes a deal with a mischievous elf named Pepper (Jillian Bell) 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 Ellis Ross), and their three children must race against the clock to break Pepper’s spell, battle deviously magical characters, and save Christmas for everyone.
For fans of Murphy’s past output, there’s something of a reunion behind the cameras too. ‘Candy Cane Lane’ is directed by Reginald Hudlin and produced by Brian Glazer, who worked with the star on 1992’s ‘Boomerang’.
The script, meanwhile, comes from Kelly Younger, a veteran of Disney and Pixar animated features who also wrote on various Muppets projects including ‘Muppets Haunted Mansion’. He’s reportedly based this new movie on his childhood growing up on a real Candy Cane Lane in El Segundo, California.
