Review: "Christmas on Candy Cane Lane"

Christmas on Candy Cane Lane Plot Summary 

Holiday decorating is taken very seriously on Candy Cane Lane, so when Tilda Morrison, the town cop, buys a house there, she feels the pressure to keep up with the other residents.  Ivy Donaldson disappoints her neighbors when she's unable to fill her mother's shoes as the "Christmas Maven," but she finds a way to forge her own path, which might just lead back to her ex-husband.  Both Tilda and Ivy join forces to find the prankster who keeps vandalizing the Christmas display of a cranky neighbor.

Starring:  Andrea Barber and Dan Payne

My Movie Grade:  A

Image:  Great American Media

We Need More Movies Based on Books

If you've seen one romantic comedy, you've seen them all.  It's why we laugh at YouTube videos condensing every romcom into a 60-second clip.  Script writers grapple to produce fresh storylines that haven't already been done to death.

One solution for breaking the mold is to adapt more books into TV movies.  Novelists have already done the grunt work of creating new characters in different settings to produce an original story.  Networks could capitalize on the creative talents of authors instead of relying on the in-house hamster wheel.

Great American Family tapped into its own "Christmas Maven" by working with renowned author Sheila Roberts to turn her successful novel, Christmas on Candy Cane Lane, into a delightfully entertaining 2022 network premiere.

While the book is different from the movie, drawing from it adds more substance to the story.  Christmas on Candy Cane Lane is book 8 in Roberts' 11-book series about life in Icicle Falls.

Of course, when Candace Cameron Bure is one of the executive producers, you can expect a quality movie.

Several Threads in the Movie Make It Interesting

One reason this movie has depth is due to weaving multiple themes together into one cohesive narrative.

Ivy doesn't want to "need" her ex-husband, Rob, but it's clear she does need him.  They still love each other, so why aren't they together?  Their daughter, Jordan, wants nothing more than for her parents to reconcile so they can be a family again.  We learn the reason for the divorce stems from Ivy shouldering too much responsibility when her mother passes away.  Ivy tries to run her mother's Christmas store, be the president of the Candy Cane Lane council, and still be a wife and mother who is "present."  However, her family life suffers because her time is too divided.  Rob had just gotten a loan for a new store located three hours away, so he can't be in two places at once.  The two drift apart, but Rob is back in town now, and he wants his family.

One thing I love about the movie is how Ivy resolves the family conflict:  she hands over the store to her trusted employee, she steps down from her position on the council, and she makes her family her first priority.  In today's world, there are too many movies about women craving power, position, and prestige, but this movie focuses on the best "jobs" a woman can ever have--being a wife and mother.  It's just another example of the types of traditional relationships Great American Family has vowed to represent.  Promises made, promises kept.

Tilda and Devon are fun to watch, too.  Tilda is convinced that Devon is the prankster who rearranges Mrs. Walters' candy cane displays in the dead of night.  She thinks his motive is to keep being re-hired to fix them, thereby generating a continuous revenue stream.  Instead of being offended, Devon is amused by Tilda's suspicions.  When Tilda finds out Devon's criminal record for "destruction of government property" stems from his participation in a march for veterans and that he was also an M.P. in the army, earned medals for his time in Afghanistan, and was a Sergeant Major in the military, she's mortified to learn just how off-base she was in her judgment.  Naturally, this incident only serves to link them romantically.

Image:  Great American Media

Mrs. Walters is pretty grouchy for someone who loves Christmas!  She's a fun character, and one of the most amusing scenes in the movie is when Ivy hands her a favorite caramel candy during the portion of the council meeting where she plans to complain about Ivy's leadership.  Her mouth gets too stuck together to voice her gripes.  When Mrs. Walters learns the identity of the prankster though, she handles it with such grace and heart that it totally redeems her.

Jordan loves recording videos and editing them for her channel, which is a modern element to add to the story.  The movie starts with a video of Muriel Sterling (Ivy's mom), and the movie ends with one of her, too, thanks to the Christmas gift Jordan creates for her mother.  It's a sweet moment that ties everything together.

Lights, Candy Canes, and Cocoa

Christmas on Candy Cane Lane offers all the warm fuzzies of Christmas, including candy canes, hot cocoa, pretty lights, and a focus on family and tradition. 

Dan Payne is a kind-hearted and gentle leading man, and Kerensa Cooper is perfectly cast as Jordan since she looks like she could actually be Ivy's daughter.  Andrea Barber doesn't really fit the image of a leading lady despite her professional performance.  I didn't enjoy her even though I still loved the movie.

Christmas on Candy Cane Lane is definitely worth watching this season.  

Image:  Great American Media

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