Directed by Dallas Jenkins and based on the international bestseller by Barbara Robinson, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever follows a small town with big-time problems: The Herdmans.
With absent parents and copious children, the Herdmans, led by Imogene (Beatrice Schneider), are a menace to both children and adults. At school, it was picking on kids and stealing their snacks. Around town, it was wreaking havoc on local merchants and leaving a path of destruction wherever they went. Told from the viewpoint of Beth (Lauren Graham), the film plows its way into the Christmas film fray to stake its claim as a top-tier holiday film.
A young Beth (Molly Belle Wright) and her brother Charlie (Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez) have every aspect of their lives upended by the raucous, troublesome nature of the infamous family. The town church was not only a place of worship but one of rest and safety for the children from the Herdmans. But once a grave misstep from Charlie invites the troublesome family into their safe space, the kids end up stuck with them for the highly anticipated annual Christmas pageant.
Thanks to channels like Lifetime and Hallmark and platforms like Netflix and Prime Video, there’s never a shortage of Christmas films when the year closes. Every year, streaming platforms and cable channels deliver a slew of holiday content to bombard our senses during this time of year. With The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, the film reminds people of the actual meaning of Christmas and does so with actions instead of explanations.
What do you do when loving your neighbor becomes a challenge? You love them anyway. Grace (Judy Greer), mother to Beth and Charlie, was exemplary in her treatment of the Herdmans once they joined the pageant. While all of the parents and volunteers wanted them removed, she stood her ground after taking the reigns of the performance and kept them included. Bypassing the very idea of Santa (you’ll hear one joke in passing), the film shifts the focus back to the birth of Jesus and the Nativity. Chaos ensues when Imogene volunteers to be Mary, a principal role in the play. Not only do the children have their doubts, but the parents are incensed at the idea that these first-timers participate and play principal characters.
Initially enticed by the promise of endless desserts, Imogene sees it as a chance for her and her siblings to be seen as something other than troublesome children. Grace takes note of the kids’ efforts and walks a fine line of advocating for them while easing tempers against them. All it takes is one person to make a difference and Beth’s presence presented the Herdmans a consistent, reliable figure in their preparation.
The best part about the film is the showing from the youth. Performances by Wright, Schneider, and Billingsley-Rodriguez were phenomenal. The rest of the Herdman clan, Gladys (Kynlee Heiman), Leroy, (Ewan Wood), Ralph (Mason D Nelligan), Claude (Matthew Lamb), and Ollie (Essek Moore) were terrific. The trove of young talent is what makes this movie better than most and the fact they focus on Jesus instead of Santa only adds to the film’s authenticity.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever gets a 9 out of 10. It’s a solid film for the holidays that puts the reason for the season into perspective. A faith-based film that’s straightforward enough for the non-believer to enjoy. If you loved the book, you’ll enjoy the movie. For those of you familiar with Dallas Jenkins and his obsession with speaking before and/or after his projects (cough cough, The Chosen), you’ll have to deal with him for 15 minutes if you catch an early screening. But if you’d like to avoid watching someone who loves to hear themselves speak, just wait until the film hits theaters on Friday.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever arrives in theaters on Friday, Nov. 8.
-Jon Jones
Photos: Courtesy of Lionsgate
Genre: Family, Drama
Rating: PG for thematic material and brief underage smoking
Runtime: 99 minutes
U.S. Release Date: November 8, 2024
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