Rating 8/10
If the phrase “faith-based movie” makes you brace yourself for some heavy-handed sermon, relax—The Best Christmas Pageant Ever isn’t that kind of narrative. Sure, it promotes respect and kindness, but it’s all wrapped up in a heartfelt package that anyone can support. Whether you’re devout or secular, this film will charm while subtly asserting the reason for the season.
Grace Bradley (Judy Greer ) inherits the job of running the church’s annual holiday play after the woman (Mariam Bernstein) who usually does it breaks her leg. The six unruly Herdman children (Beatrice Schneider, Mason D. Nelligan, Matthew Lamb, Ewan Wood, Essek Moore, and Kynlee Heiman) are known for their disorderly antics and rough upbringing in their small-town community. Drawn by the promise of snacks, they attend the casting call.
Despite having never heard the Nativity story before, they seize the lead roles to the shock of the locals. The residents are not happy and want to kick the Herdmans out. Grace’s daughter Beth (Molly Belle Wright) is a grade-schooler involved in the production process. She also narrates the account as an adult (Lauren Graham) looking back on when her mother and her father, Bob (Pete Holmes), were in over their heads. Oh no! The show might be a complete disaster. Psst…read the title.
It is somewhat funny that The Best Christmas Pageant Ever has been relegated to the category of faith-based messaging, which carries a certain stigma in the mainstream market. True, it acknowledges the origins of the holiday—the birth of Jesus Christ. However, if this chronicle is selectively considered faith-driven, then A Charlie Brown Christmas, which quotes 2:8-14 from the Gospel of Luke, is one too. The picture beautifully highlights that welcoming the unfairly shunned outcast is a good quality to uphold and promote. Indeed, the masses can embrace universal qualities like humility, peace, and joy.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is poised to become a holiday favorite once audiences slowly discover it exists. The nostalgic saga is set against a golden-hued past, evoking a sense of warmth and sentimentality without specifying a particular time or place. I’d guess the early 1970s. Directed by Dallas Jenkins, known for The Chosen TV series, screenwriters Ryan Swanson, Platte Clark, and Darian McDaniel adapted it from the 1972 novel. Author Barbara Robinson subsequently modified her book into a stage play in 1982. It has become a staple for community theaters, schools, and church groups, beloved for depicting a chaotic yet ultimately meaningful depiction of the first Christmas. An oft-told tale is re-discovered from a fresh perspective.
The saying goes, “Don’t judge a book by its cover. The disheveled Herdman children have a raw understanding of the birth of Christ. They force the faithful to reconsider the hardships contained within the story and reexamine its nuances. In a world that often celebrates the polished and pristine, this story reminds us that truth can come from the imperfect and unrefined. Sometimes, the most unexpected voices hold the most wisdom.
11-12-24