The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, 2024.
Directed by Dallas Jenkins.
Starring Judy Greer, Pete Holmes, Molly Belle Wright, Lauren Graham, Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez, Kynlee Heiman, Matthew Lamb, Beatrice Schneider, Ewan Wood, Essek Moore, Mason D Nelligan, Lorelei Olivia Mote, Danielle Hoetmer, Kirk B.R. Woller, Elizabeth Tabish, Vanessa Benavente, Wyatt Dewar, Nolan Grantham, Isla Verlot, Lauren Cochrane, Daina Leitold, Jenni Burke, Stephanie Sy, Sara Angelica, and Tom Young.
SYNOPSIS:
Nobody is ready for the mayhem and surprises that ensue when six of the worst youngsters disrupt the town’s yearly Christmas performance.
Having not read Barbara Robinson’s novel or seen the TV-movie adaptation, co-writer/director Dallas Jenkins’ The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (crafting the screenplay alongside Platte Clark, Darin McDaniel, and Ryan Swanson) is pleasantly surprising and movingly timely, arriving at a moment when some groups of people have seemingly forgotten all meaning of Christianity and what’s in the Bible (perhaps they never read it in the first place.) That’s also a welcome, subversive diversion from preaching kindness through religion, specifically the Nativity story and play.
Set in a small undisclosed town at some point in the 70s (following the novel), the community is made up of a judgmental bunch that seems to have lost sight of the Nativity’s message, having become self-absorbed and preoccupied with pressuring the children into the same roles (that most of them don’t want to play anymore), all to keep up an expected level of quality, especially with the 75th anniversary of the town putting on this play coming up. Their disdain primarily comes out in the form of looking down on and consistently being frustrated by a six-pack of sibling rascals, causing chaos ranging from stealing to smoking to bullying to arson and more.
Abandoned by their father and with a mother wrapped up in work (someone we never actually see, unless I’m mistaken, which would add a darker layer to the narrative), the children are unsupervised and problematic. They come across as dirty bandits (none of them look like they have showered in ages despite having a home) wreaking havoc on a town of mostly decent people who don’t find the time or think about looking into their lives. To them, these children are a nuisance, period. They all have their quirks, ranging from loudness to talkativeness and more, but among them, Beatrice Schneider’s Imogene stands out as the oldest and most mature (underneath all the bad behavior, which is mostly acting out in defiance that people see them as a problem and don’t necessarily care) and, depressingly, a pseudo-mother to her brothers and sisters.
Much of this information comes from narration by an older Beth (Lauren Graham), with her younger self (Molly Belle Wright) and jokester brother Charlie (Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez) heavy targets of the previously mentioned bullying. Their mom, Grace (Judy Greer), has also fallen into the position of helming the Nativity play this year. Also, the town doesn’t have faith in her to pull it off with another smashing success, including her supportive but amusing husband Bob (Pete Holmes, a likable family man and seemingly who Zachary Levi tries and fails to project himself as on-screen and in real life as of late.)
At one point, Older Beth’s narration says, “You’re probably wondering what these kids have to do with my life and the play,” which readers of this review might also be wondering. There is a lot of plot here, so to summarize quickly, the pesky children enter church after learning about an upcoming food drive, where they also find themselves sitting still for once and are part of the casting process for the Nativity play. The most basic details of the story (such as Mary and Joseph being denied a place to sleep and generally being treated like dirt by these people) have struck a chord with them, resonating with their lives. They ask questions that cause Grace to reconsider the story in ways she might have never thought about. As for Beth, she is rightfully concerned these kids will ruin everything for all the hard work her mother is putting into the job that the rest of the town’s ruling on her to fail.
There is also a much more touching layer here: Imogene secretly has a passion for acting as escapism from her rough living conditions. She also grapples with whether anyone will be happy to see her taking the play seriously. Without spoiling anything, the film also understands how the best versions of art or any story incorporate something real and relatable. These characters get to make slight tweaks to the play in heartstring-tugging ways that don’t feel manipulative. As for the actors in those roles, Beatrice Schneider is a genuinely special find, convincingly driving home the emotional beats.
Some reservations are to be had about the unwillingness to engage a bit deeper into some of the darker elements at play here, and the nonstop A Christmas Story-inspired narration feels somewhat unnecessary across the entire running time. There are some misses in the jokes department and some overly cutesy performances. Flaws exist here. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever also works as a wholesome, moving holiday story about its true spirit and a worthwhile lesson for kids that people can change if there is an effort to get to the root cause of why someone is troublesome or mean, but it’s also an unexpectedly beautiful tale about art and storytelling itself, and what gives it timeless power.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
