The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Yes it's sappy.

Yes it's predictable.

But good Christmas movies usually are.

We laughed. I cried a good bit.

I wish we had more movies like this.

I wish we had movies that didn't have to have tons of sex and violence. I actually took both kids and my mother in law and we all enjoyed it at different levels. I call that success and it gives me hope.

Most Christian movies are bad. But not this one. It was well acted. The music and editing felt top notch. At no point did I feel like I'd be embarrassed to recommend this film. And I don't think every Christian film has to hit you in the head with the gospel. This one hit that perfect balance.

I really disliked the first hour or so. It try's really hard to duplicate the "Christmas Story" vibe but fails repeatedly to evoke any positive nostalgia. Also fails at humor. Everything seems very contrived and lacks any real emotion. I expect the "bad" kids to be a little over the top bad, but they should have some substance behind them. Everybody is two dimensional.

Then we get into the putting together the pageant and plenty of holes in the plot here too. But when we get to the retelling of the Christmas story I must confess that my heartstrings were pulled. There was a meaningful Christmas message that evolved from a pretty drawn out schmaltzy production. If I had turned it off after half an hour as I was tempted to do it would have gotten a 2. The last part brought it up to 7.

I was parusing through IMDB hoping I would find a new Christmas movie to watch every year. I read the reviews and I was instantly curious about The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. So my wife and I went to our favorite theater to see if my hunch was correct.

The writers took the time to introduce each character so we could feel as if we were in the movie with the children.

As usual there was the obligatory mean children who made the others always on edge.

As the movie progressed we not only felt sad for the bullied kids but became intrigued as to why the mean kids were bullies.

Give the movie a chance. We did. Now it will be on our Christmas must see movie list every year. 👏👏

So I gave this a 9/10. I want everyone to know this is not a true 9/10, but instead this is based on a scale of catching the meaning of Christmas. Let's go ahead and say 10 is it's a Wonderful Life.

Tthe Best Christmas Pageant Ever" is a 9/10. I don't say this lightly. Goodness, it has been years since a movie captured the true spirit of Christmas. The spirit that makes you want to be a better person, and believe in others ability to change. That vibe is so hard to come by, but wow does this movie get it done.

Yes, it's a Christian movie, but not in a preachy way in the slightest. This movie is subtle, and wonderful, and leaves you wanting to be a better person.

Just wow. For a family Christmas movie, bravo.

Beth: "Everything is falling apart." Grace: "I'm not sure they were ever together."

And so it goes with an annual Christmas pageant, whose machinations would rival a small military exercise. It's the film adaptation of the child's book, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. And it is just as the title suggests, at least for me who thinks this is the best Christmas film in years.

Comedy and drama march together as Grace (Judy Greer) runs the annual pageant now that its usual director has been incapacitated. Grace is a good person exemplifying the best of Christian virtue, yet her values will be tested to the max with the arrival of the Herdman children, motherless ruffians notorious for being ornery and at times downright destructive.

Although Grace is inclined to accept the clan for major roles, in the absence of other volunteers, most of the town, even her children, are exclusionary of the infamous family. Thus begins the dominant motif of the subtle faith-based dramedy, the acceptance of those not like us.

As Grace uses her people and drama skills to pull off the pageant, so, too, do others see the value of listening to critics of the status quo as the Herdman's are. More destructive than anything else is their challenges to conventional wisdom, for instance, the account of the Three Wisemen delivering gifts wholly unsuited to an impoverished family. The answer of delivering a ham is perfect and indicative of the riches the Herdman's give to the clueless town in the form of vigorous opposition to the outdated norms of the Bible.

I hope I have persuaded you to try director Dallas Jenkins' The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. My tastes run from It's a Wonderful Life to Bad Santa and not faith-based films in general. Yet, I have been impressed by the quality of such Angel Productions as Sound of Freedom, Cabrini, and Bonhoeffer and now the Kingdom Story Company's Best Christmas. I'm open to new experiences.

Happy Holidays.