‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ Review – A 90s Holiday Throwback For The Whole Family
We can all use heartwarming Christmas movies during this difficult time, which begs a question. Are you doing enough to help those in need this holiday season?
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The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is a story about loving your neighbor as yourself even if your neighbors may be demon-possessed. It begins with the story of a young girl named Beth Bradley who lives in a small town terrorized by a group of children known as “The Herdmans,” six children often referred to as the worst kids in the world. They lie, cheat, steal, and bully to get anything they want.
Tragedy strikes the town when the organizer of the annual Christmas Pageant suffers an injury that takes her away from her duties putting the town in desperate need of a new director. Beth’s mother Grace Bradley (Judy Greer) takes the job as the new pageant director. However, many people are asking her to make changes to an otherwise boring pageant play.
Be careful what you ask for because that change comes with the Herdmans demanding that they be featured in the play including the lead Herdman, Imogene (Beatrice Schneider), who demands to play Mary. With no one else willing to be in the play featuring the terrible group, Beth and her mother Grace have to put together the biggest pageant of the year but do it with the most unreliable group of kids to ever exist.
This film feels like a throwback to a 1990s family movie that modern audiences are not accustomed to anymore. It features a group of misguided children who are looked down upon as outcasts but the more you get to know them, the more you understand that their problem isn’t their behavior, it’s the neglect that has led to that behavior.
One thing should be clarified: this is not a Christian movie. If you’re expecting more faith-based elements, you will be disappointed because it’s not there. The theme being “Hope,” the movie is more strictly “family entertainment” that teaches the ideals of helping those in need.
The Herdmans lack a sense of community and have terrorized the community due to a lack of guidance, but you will sympathize with them. Despite their bad behavior, they’re not bad people especially when the stories of the Bible inspire them. The children show a genuine interest in learning about the birth of Christ which is used as a gateway to introduce them to other concepts of Christianity.
However, Dallas Jenkins, the creator of the show The Chosen, and the man in charge of directing this, seems to lambaste the perceived snobbiness of some believers who wish not to help others because they don’t fit their mold of what a Christian should be. While self-righteousness exists in the church, the idea that those in the church will be too afraid to handle a couple of difficult children is a point of view that’s likely more likely to come from a nonbeliever.
The standout of this film is young actress Beatrice Schneider in the role of Imogene. She portrays a young girl who struggles to see herself having the ability to play someone as humble and sweet as Mary but learns to grow for the sake of her troubled family.
The film has the pacing and storytelling of a Hallmark movie, but that’s not a bad thing if audiences are looking for a feel-good story to enjoy with family, especially younger children. They will find a lot of joy in this movie, which should satisfy their needs this holiday season.
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The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
PROS
- Fun family-based film
- Beatrice Schneider
CONS
- Not really a "faith-based" film
- Still too Hallmark-style for its own good
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