'Candy Cane Candidate' Review: Jacky Lai's Lifetime film is all about love and joy
Lifetime’s slate of Christmas movies has been entertaining people for a very long time and this year, they have taken the game to a whole new level. The network revealed a slate of 35 Christmas movies to make everyone’s Christmas special and one of the films that managed to nab all the eyeballs is ‘Candy Cane Candidate’.
The movie sees supremely talented Jacky Lai playing the role of Julia, who has decided to return to her hometown to drown her sorrows after suffering a loss in the recent elections. So, she wants to enjoy the festival with her family and all her loved ones. However, things take a dramatic U-turn when she learns that Parker (Jake Epstein), one of her former friends from high school, is going to be the next Mayor of North Falls as the current Mayor (Stephanie Herrera) will be leaving the office soon. Julia learns that there is no competitor and feels that having no contest is not healthy, so she decides to run for the position of Governor.
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The only thing people don’t know is that they did go against each other during the high school elections and Julia lost that time. The loss turned out to be a more dramatic one because Julia used to like Parker during high school, but she believed that Parker didn’t. So, will this be a fight for gaining something back that she lost? Or they will end up rekindling their love life once again? The best part of the movie is that even though it wants the leading characters to have a happy ending, it never shies away from revealing how competitive these two are during the election campaign.
In between the election campaigns, we get to know the love-hate relationship between Julia and Parker. Even when they are going against each other and don’t leave any stone unturned for winning the election, there is something that always makes them want to spend their time together, and that something is “love”.
Apart from having an interesting premise, the makers have done a splendid job in keeping the viewers hooked with their clever writing. The movie could have been really different if the makers would have just focused on the love life of the characters. But mixing it up with the election campaign fights makes the Lifetime movie even more engaging and you are constantly fighting yourself on who to support during the elections.
As far as acting is concerned, Jacky Lai is undoubtedly one of the most charming leading ladies in Hollywood. The actress made waves by becoming the first Asian-American actress to lead a Lifetime movie with ‘A Sugar & Spice Holiday’ and in this latest movie, she shows why it was such a good idea to have her as the leading lady. She is talented, and completely mesmerizes you with her acting in ‘Candy Cane Christmas'. She owns the screen and lets you know that the stereotypical view of having Asian actors in just supporting roles is something that people should now forget about. I hope, we see her in a big-budget Hollywood movie soon. Also, she looked ravishing in the red dress during the final moments of the film.
On the other hand, our leading man Jake Epstein (Parker) is as good as it can get. His character is the hero of the town and everyone loves him. As the movie progresses, we know why people love him and want him as the new mayor. Epstein is effortless in his role and makes you fall in love with his character as soon as he arrives on the screen. The chemistry between him and Jacky is a treat to watch as well.
Mickeey Nguyen as Jax and Daniel Nguyen as Noah are really impressive in their roles. The nervousness that people have when they like each other is perfectly shown by Daniel and it reminds you of when some of us had our first crush or liked someone. Edwina Renout as Sylvie is brilliant as well.
All in all, ‘Candy Cane Candidate’ is a sweet little movie that you need to watch with your loved ones and realize how much spending time with your loved ones is important even if your professional life is not what you expected it to be. Being with your loved one makes everything okay because sometimes all you need is a group of people who can make you feel that you are enough.
‘Candy Cane Candidate’ is the perfect Christmas gift this season and you should not miss it.