Candy Cane Christmas Review: Misunderstandings and Sweet Serendipity!

It's that magical time of year where you can believe that maybe love, or happiness, or hope is right around the corner.

And in the case of Candy Cane Christmas, you can bump into it over and over again until everything works out for the best.

Phoebe and Eric (Yes, another Eric) bumped into each other so often that the movie probably should've been called Christmas Serendipity.

It was as if the stars were aligning for this sweet pair, and fate got a few hee hees and ho hos out of their situation. It was a simple enough film full of Christmas romance and many misunderstandings.

Let us hope wonky communication won't continue to play a prominent role in the future when Phoebe and Eric get married. Their misunderstandings were enough to give a girl secondhand embarrassment.

Phoebe was a lovely woman filled with joy and the Christmas spirit. She loved everything about the season, but it was her passion for her job that was enough to make you smile.

It's something so simple, a flower shop, but co-owning a flower shop with her best friend from childhood is almost like living the dream, you know?

How often does one get to do work that makes them happy? It's rarer than it should be, and it was nice to see how Phoebe and Laurie were content with their lives.

The only thing missing from Phoebe's was a romance. She didn't even think it was something missing, and that's what makes the romantic stories all the better.

Phoebe didn't need a man in her life, but if a good one comes along anyway, then hey! For Eric's part, it was much the same. He lived for his job as a veterinarian, and he loved his work colleagues and spending time with his aunt and her friends at the senior center three times a week.

He was licking his wounds a bit after his last relationship, where he grew apart from his ex-fiancee, Leslie, but other than that, Eric's life was working for him.

Of course, that all changed when he dropped by Phoebe's flower shop. Phoebe and Eric had an instant connection, and it made every accidental meeting between them winsome.

They were two awkward little beans that were attracted to each other instantly, but they kept misreading situations and all of that fun stuff.

Ah, the struggles of being awkward and inept with the dating and meeting of new people, am I right?

The funniest part about their many misunderstandings was how they had little control over them. It was natural for Phoebe to assume "the special lady" Eric bought poinsettia for was a significant other.

It's an assumption anyone would make, and while there were some sparks and chemistry between them the next time they interacted at the grocery store, it could've been perceived as friendly and platonic, too.

Attraction and dating are hard, you guys.

You would think after the initial wrong assumption where Phoebe thought Eric was hitting on her despite being with someone else that they would have learned to give each other and situations the benefit of the doubt, but then we wouldn't have this quaint movie, now would we?

The two of them showing up at the same event after their friends set them up with other people was another instance where it looked one way when it wasn't.

But hell, even their "dates" saw that Eric and Phoebe were head over heels for one another. Although, I'm still scratching my head over their friends orchestrating blind dates for them.

Eric told his buddy that he made a move on a woman in the grocery store, so you would think it would buy him some more time from the set-up game.

And if Laurie was Phoebe's best friend, then how on EARTH did Laurie think Greg was a decent match for Phoebe?

I would've been livid if I gave up grabbing a bite with the guy I was interested in, thinking I was having a nice dinner with my best friend and her husband, and she sprung a blind date with Mr. Clean, the boring political cartoonist on me.

To be fair, Greg wasn't so bad at the dinner, and Phoebe was a bit on the rude side. Initially, it didn't seem as though he was setting out to say the wrong things. Phoebe would read too much into whatever he said, and it had more to do with her frustration over the situation.

It didn't seem as though he was downplaying her flower shop business or that he thought she was stupid or childish for preferring comics over political cartoons.

Nevertheless, he offended Phoebe every time he opened his mouth.

Maybe Greg should've left it at that, though. It was one thing to ask her out for another event when he already sensed she wasn't into him, but it was another to treat it as a date after he said it wasn't.

He asked her if it was something he should know about when Phoebe and Eric bumped into each other and shared their charged moments again as if he and Phoebe ever stood a chance at being anything more.

Maybe Greg and Eric's date hit it off at the dinner later on. They probably had more in common with one another. Eric showed zero interest in her, and Phoebe and Greg were nowhere near compatible.

The only one worth meddling in anyone's love life was Aunt Maggie. She was the absolute best, and her relationship with Eric was the cutest.

She knew Eric and Phoebe were destined for one another, and she didn't mind making her opinion on the matter known.

Eric's grand gesture of bringing back Candy Cane Lane was one of the best parts of the movie. Most of the time, the gift is personal, and for that one individual.

But in this case, Candy Cane Lane was bigger than Phoebe. Sure, it crushed her when Louise said she was selling the house and they were no longer doing it.

Phoebe participated in it her entire life, and it's what she associated with Christmas. But reestablishing Candy Cane Lane was also about the foster kids who didn't have families and never celebrated Christmas.

Via Eric's suggestion, not only did he bring the Christmas cheer, tradition, and nostalgia back into Phoebe's life, but it served a much bigger purpose and made a difference for those in need.

The new and improved Candy Cane Lane has more meaning than ever now.

And Phoebe and Eric finally were on the same page at the same time without any more misunderstandings.

Gosh, these movies are the best, aren't they? I'm off in search of hot cocoa with marshmallows and warm gingerbread cookies.

How would you rate this one? Did you enjoy it? Where does it rank in your favorite Christmas movies list?

Feel free to hit the comment section below to fanperson over Christmas movies with me. Don't forget to check out It's a Wonderful Lifetime's Lineup for upcoming movies. 

Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.