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Candy Cane Lane | 2023 | PG | – 2.2.3
Why is “Candy Cane Lane” rated PG? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “language throughout and some suggestive references.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a man and a woman kissing, several flirtatious conversations, cartoonish violence against toys, scenes of panicked crowds, and a few not fully enunciated F-words. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.
A man who just lost his job (Eddie Murphy) is determined to win a neighborhood Christmas decoration contest, but when he makes a deal with an elf (Jillian Bell) to buy magical decorations, he discovers that the transaction comes with strings attached. Also with Tracee Ellis Ross and Nick Offerman. Directed by Reginald Hudlin. [Running Time: 2:00]
Candy Cane Lane SEX/NUDITY 2
– A husband and his wife kiss in bed, fully clothed; a toy man (a man turned into a toy) watches them from a bedside table and asks, “How strange is it about to get?” and they react in disgust. A man and a woman almost kiss, and then she pushes him away in disgust. A man hugs his wife tightly in celebration, swinging her around.
► A woman shimmies and dances while seated in several scenes, shaking her bosom (no visible nudity or cleavage); a man looks away. During the credits, a woman reaches into her shirt and says there is a saltine in there; she offers it to a man who says no, looking uncomfortable.
► A man tells his wife, “I’ll give you some good stuff later.” A toy man flirts with a married woman in several scenes, calling her names like, “hot stuff” and “a tall drink of water” and telling her there is a fire between them. A toy man tells a woman, “I don’t have batteries, but you can check.” A woman tells a man that he “looks great” and asks if he has been eating fewer cookies. While being tossed around in a dollhouse, a toy person tells other toy people, “Sorry I put my butt on y’all.”
Candy Cane Lane VIOLENCE/GORE 2
– People at a big box store fight over Christmas decorations, wrestling and screaming. A woman kicks a man in the shin; he curses in pain and she runs away.
► A man throws a javelin and it clips another man’s ankle, knocking him down (there’s no visible injury). A javelin narrowly misses a man, embedding in the ground in front of him. Several men wield javelins like swords, circling each other threateningly.
► In several scenes, swans, geese, and other birds chase and dive bomb people, sometimes launching eggs at them; people run away, screaming, and several get hit with raw eggs (we see goo). A goose bites a man on the buttocks as he runs away; he yelps in pain. A woman catches a flying bird and throws it; the bird screeches and bonks into a factory machine (no visible injury).
► A man steps onto a running track while runners are racing; a girl runs into him and is knocked to the ground. A teenage boy gets sprayed with a strong stream of milk directly from a cow’s udder, knocking him back into a wall. A woman throws a metal water bottle at a man; it hits him in the head as he runs, causing him to stumble. A toy man runs through a street, dodging falling objects and people stepping on him, and a bird tries to peck at him but misses. A toy man is shocked by the “Operation” board game; we see electricity flow through him as he seizes. A group of toy people are moved while in a dollhouse and they are shaken around and thrown into walls and furniture, screaming (no injuries are seen). A boy tries to grab a golden ring from a drummer; the drummer hits his hand away with a drumstick.
► A woman is caught in a trap and dangles from her foot until a man releases the rope and the woman shrieks and hits the ground. A man opens a large can and falls backwards onto the pavement; he groans in pain and stands up, uninjured. A woman throws a smoke bomb on the floor; it creates a cloud of smoke and she begins to cough. A Christmas light is so bright that people shield their eyes, including two pilots on a plane. People react to a jump scare in a few scenes (a doll or person suddenly appearing behind them) and scream.
► A man gets several threatening anonymous calls, telling him that something is coming for him and that his family is not safe. A teenage boy answers an anonymous call and yells at the caller, “We’re all coming for you because you messed with the wrong family.” A woman threatens a toy man who is flirting with her by saying that she will flick him into next Christmas. In anger, a woman exclaims, “Fudge me!” A man says that his son is a math prodigy; another man tells him, “A lot of sociopaths were math prodigies.” A man threatens to set a room full of Christmas decorations on fire. A toy man threatens to “burn that [anatomical term deleted]” and “fire pit that [anatomical term deleted].” A young girl tells her dad that they are going to “kick some [anatomical term deleted].” A man says he was about to “start whooping everybody’s [anatomical term deleted].” A woman tells a group of people, “Life is about taking the baton and shoving it up the competition’s chimney.” A woman refers to the fine print on a receipt, saying, “It’s like you’re signing your life away.” A woman tells her family that she was attacked by birds on her way to work. A woman tells a group of French hens to make people suffer “…as only the French can.” A man says that he “pulled a hammy.” Several characters warn others that they should not split up, because “Black people always die first in horror movies.” A toy man calls a woman “the oppressor with her foot on our necks.” A toy person remarks about “shaken ornament syndrome.” A man says that a woman should be flogged; she responds that “it’s been a long time since my last flogging.” A man tells a woman that she is going to work in reindeer stalls where she’ll be “shoveling [mild scatological term deleted].” A teenage boy appears drenched in milk and says, “I don’t want to talk about it.” A man offers another man a “fresh killed lady mallard” as a Christmas gift and holds up a dead bird. A toy person makes a joke about being “clogged up” from eating nothing but chestnuts. A toy person says she has motion sickness; a toy man tells her not to throw up on him.
► A woman takes a bite out of a Christmas ornament; it shatters like glass and she chews it (no injury is seen). A woman spits out a mouthful of chewed-up peppermints; we see food matter.
Candy Cane Lane LANGUAGE 3
– About 4 not fully enunciated F-words, 7 scatological terms (2 not fully enunciated), 7 anatomical terms, 11 mild obscenities, name-calling (crazy, stupid, insane, needy, evil, freaky, idiots, sick, twisted, sadistic, slum, naughty, old man, villain, losers, weak, tricky), exclamations (son of a Blitzen, shut-up, fudge), 10 religious exclamations (e.g. Jesus Christ, you’re going to hell, Holy cow, God, oh my God). | profanity glossary |
Candy Cane Lane SUBSTANCE USE
– People discuss drinking bad boxed wine, there are a few scenes where people hold beer bottles and wine glasses, and a man asks if there is a pub on the way to a destination.
Candy Cane Lane DISCUSSION TOPICS
– Losing jobs, the importance of family, growing up, the true meaning of Christmas, magic.
Candy Cane Lane MESSAGE
– It’s always better to get through the hard stuff together, rather than go through it alone.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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