Eddie Murphy is one of those actors that made so much money during the eighties and nineties, he never has to work again. Which, to be fair, he doesn’t do a lot of lately, coming out of seemingly semi-retirement for the odd role here and there.

But according to his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show, he’s always fancied being in a Christmas flick, as he’s a fan of them generally.

And so if Eddie Murphy wants it, he gets, as he stars here in a somewhat unusual Christmas flick.

Living in a wealthy suburb of El Segundo, California are Chris Carver (Murphy) and his family. It’s a community that has built up a reputation for putting on quite a show at Christmas with all the neighbours decorating their homes to an impressive standard, so much so that their street is dubbed Candy Cane Lane.

Chris definitely takes it seriously, producing original ornaments and the like. He gets some bad news however when he’s laid off from work, which means the upcoming holiday period could be a disappointment for his family.

His mood changes however when a local TV channel announces that their lights are going to be judged this year, competing for the top prize of $100,000, which would be pretty useful right about now.

He’s out driving with his youngest daughter Holly (Madison Thomas) when they come across a curious Christmas shop, displaying some of the most incredible decorations. There’s no doubt they would give him an edge, and get him a little closer to that big money prize.

But when he pays for the goods, he’s not aware of exactly what he’s letting himself and his family in for when he signs for it, as his Christmas preparations are about to get even more stressful.

Although it’s certainly been a while, this film re-unites director Reginald Hudlin with Murphy, who made the comedy Boomerang in 1990 together.

At first this film appears to be fairly predictable, as the story of competitive neighbours with their Christmas decorations unfolds. It’s a little obvious and doesn’t take much to work out where it’s heading. And then, out of the blue, it takes a massive swerve, going in a completely different and quirky direction, which is certainly refreshing.

Unfortunately it probably doesn’t push enough in this direction, which involves traditional Christmas figurines, which are brought to life with some lovely CGI. You would expect with someone with Murphy’s comedic talents on board, it could give the film a little edginess here and there, but sadly it’s not to be. And although it would have been welcome, it would, admittedly, probably have been at the expense of being an accessible family film, which there’s no denying this is. Still it does feel somewhat of a missed opportunity with Murphy’s input.

That said, the swerve is still refreshingly unexpected, and certainly gives it the kind of originality that is sorely lacking for many a Christmas film these days, with the recent release of the Richard Curtis scripted Genie the perfect example of.

The film’s biggest surprise however is how the hell Murphy, now 62, can still look as good as he did thirty years ago. If anyone has signed a pact with someone he shouldn’t have, surely it’s Murphy.

It’s difficult to tell whether this will go on to be a yuletide classic, especially as how tricky it is to determine what films are, this is still a welcome and cheery addition to the genre, as a visit to Candy Cane Lane is more than likely to get you in the spirit for the festive season.