With Halloween in the rear view mirror, the avalanche of Christmas movies is about to begin. Amidst the endless “overworked female city dweller falls in love with quirky small town man in Vancouver” Hallmark films, maybe 5-10 actually take the time to go back to basics, and teach about why Christmas matters to so many. The Best Christmas Pageant ever is one of those, and even more fortunately, is one of the good ones, hopefully destined to end up a holiday staple for years to come.
For those who hadn’t read the book or watched the 1983 TV movie, The Best Christmas Pageant ever happens in the town of Emmanuel, during the 75th annual Christmas Pageant. The story takes place from Beth Bradley’s (Molly Belle Wright) perspective, an elementary school girl, whose mother Grace (Judy Greer) volunteers to run the play after the previous director gets hurt. Bad timing for Grace/Beth: this happens to be the year the Herdmans decide to participate in the play. Who are the Herdmans you ask? Well, led by Imogene (Beatrice Schneider), they’re a clan of 6 basically parentless children who dominate the town with their mischief, ranging from stealing lunches to burning down various buildings while smoking a stogie or two.
A story like this one works better if it has a faith based movie director, who actually cherishes what you can learn from the Bible. Dallas Jenkins (who directs The Chosen, a beloved TV series about Jesus) deserves credit for interweaving the essence of the novel with the essence of Jesus’s birth story. In fact, that’s the linchpin the movie revolves around. As you might expect, when Imogene decides she wants to be Mary, she sets off a firestorm across the town. Kids/parents such as the uptight, by the book Alice Wendelken (Lorelei Olivia Mote) are appalled at how this dirty/poor Imogene Herdman wants to be Mary, and that the whole Herdman family have no idea who Jesus is or why he is important (a humorous well the movie goes to over and over again). People like the Wendelkens worship Jesus, so much so they can’t hear the story and make sure everything Joseph and Mary went through was magical, beautiful, and as picture perfect as possible. So any strange behavior or question from the Herdmans cannot be tolerated, and is weaponized to keep these flawed but open hearted Herdmans out of their view of who “deserves” to be a part of the pageant.
But Grace Bradley, and her husband Bob (Pete Holmes) know better. Instead of succumbing to the powerful blinded church moms, Grace acts as a guiding light to the Herdman clan, making time to answer their questions so they know why everyone in the town really loves this story and wants the pageant to be great. This empathy breaks through these 6 kids just enough, that they let down their hard exteriors and really invest into this tale that has caught their attention. Imogene’s arc has to work for the movie to really pop, and it does so wonderfully, as the de facto Herdman matriarch of her family finds in Mary a kindred spirit…and as a result an inner strength and sweetness she never knew she had. The big pageant is faithful enough to the previous adaptations, and finds much more of an emotional payoff than I was expecting. Even an unnecessary cameo and preachiness tacked on at the end couldn’t shake the great time I was having watching The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, smiling from ear to ear like a big goofy Christmas sweater wearing dork.
And that’s who The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is for. Check your cynicism at the door, and go into this one with an open heart. You might just be as shocked as I was at how this movie awashes you in Christmas spirit. So much so, that you blackout and realize you just bought 3 sweaters, 5 golden rings, tinsel, and down payments on many of the birds in the 12 days of Christmas party you just sent the invitations out for. Just me? That’s fine. I have a 24 hour cancellation policy I can use.