- Starring
- Judy Greer, Pete Holmes
- Director
- Dallas Jenkins
- Rating
- PG
- Genre
- Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Christmas
- Release date
- Nov 8, 2024
- Where to watch
- Amazon (rent or buy), Fandango (rent or buy)
Overall Score
Rating Overview
Rating Summary
Based on a book of the same name, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever follows the story of the Herdman siblings, known as the “worst kids in the history of the world.” When they unexpectedly take over the town’s annual Christmas pageant, chaos ensues.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Review
It’s easy to look at a film like this with cynicism and dismiss it as a low-budget sap-fest in the worst traditions of Hallmark and Lifetime. However, what The Best Christmas Pageant Ever lacks in sophistication, it makes up for with an earnest message and scenes pregnant with meaning.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. – James 2:14-17
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Judy Greer, who leads the film, gives a sincere and committed performance bursting with subtext despite rather uncomplicated dialogue—and that is the movie’s secret Santa. Even though it relies on copious narration to deliver expositional dumps and character outlines, it depicts a reality infused into the marrow of most of Middle America. Every archetypical character is recognizable as someone from your hometown, so it doesn’t need as much development as high fantasy, etc. We live and breathe these experiences.
Combined with cute and thoughtful performances by many of its children actors and actresses, and moments of simple and raw reflection, we’re left with a mirror that reminds us of our faults and foibles, how easy it is to get caught up in our own egos and back-patting, and that not every problem can be solved by placing a check in the collection plate and letting others “deal” with it.
What good is faith without deeds? What good is faith unshared?
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age
We have a great purpose bequeathed to us in pain and suffering – in love and compassion, and sometimes, all it takes to fulfill is the giving of your time and a kind word.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever shouts with a whisper. Rent it today and add it to your watchlist for Christmas and its message to your heart for all time.
INAPPROPRIATE ELEMENTS
None
- Blessedly none.
WOKE ELEMENTS
Nada
- There were early hints that the dad would be yet another useless movie dad – little more than a punchline. However, while his part is small, he is shown to be charitable, wise, and supportive.
James Carrick
James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.
3 comments
PhilK
December 28, 2024 at 9:33 pm
Pam Greer is awesome but I don’t think she’s in the movie. Lol
James Carrick
December 28, 2024 at 11:59 pm
It’s funny—I always mix up Judy Greer and even took extra steps to get it right for this film, yet I still managed to get it wrong.
Sweet Deals
January 4, 2025 at 9:24 pm
I admit that while the cinematography and the delivery from the actors are slightly cartoonish, the camera angles are well-framed. The camera doesn’t roll or shake excessively, the scenes are well-lighted so I can actually see the movie, and the plot actually makes sense. I consider this a very good thing. I’d also like to add that while the movie is indeed about Christmas, the main focus of the movie is a Nativity play in a small town church that takes the tradition very seriously; a little too seriously. There isn’t a whole lot of Christmas clutter such as mountains of shiny, expensive gifts that no one plays with, light displays so bright they can safely guide airplanes through blizzards, perfectly-planned dinner parties and costume balls, or rescuing Santa Claus with goofy gadgets. My inner Grinch who gets offended and disoriented by such crass displays of excess is very grateful.
I believe this film is a flashback nostalgia movie set sometime in the previous century. Much like A Christmas Story or the 1992 film Radio Flyer, it is being narrated by an adult relating the story of a not-so-idyllic childhood to the next generation. While today, there are many reasons for us to have hardened our hearts, some themes are universal and need to be remembered.
The Herdmans have a reputation for being crass and bullying the townsfolk without showing any sign of remorse, so it’s understandable that the people in the town who have been hurt by the Herdmans and find their behavior shameful don’t want them around. When the Herdmans volunteer to take all the lead roles in the town’s Nativity pageant, at first it seems like another ploy to steal something precious that others have away from them. However, once the Herdmans become part of the play, they accept it sincerely as an opportunity to become something greater than themselves. While old habits may be hard to break, Imogene Herdman genuinely wants to embrace her role, not simply as the oldest sibling in a family of miscreants, but as someone strong enough to endure hardship and yet gentle enough to provide love, and her younger siblings rise to the occasion, too. It has far more meaning to them than the other kids who don’t really want to be in the play, but their parents force it on them because of the honor and status it confers, despite the tradition long going stale and hollow.
We all have desires to become something greater than ourselves. That desire for honor and status can drive us to do great things, but also can drive us toward greed, envy and conceit. It’s important to understand the difference between maintaining the appearance of doing something good and actually doing something good. Doing something good doesn’t always have to take the form of a grandiose gesture; an act of kindness can be small and may require us to take a risk, become vulnerable and get our hands dirty, but if it’s sincere and pointed in the right direction, it can genuinely change a person’s life for the better.
One of the things I’d like to add involves a scene where the fire department is called to put out a fire in the church where the rehearsal is being held. The adults are quick to accuse the Herdmans of starting it, both because they have a history of doing so, but they also accuse the Herdmans of a bunch of other things they’re not guilty of because the town has been spreading ugly rumors about them for a long time. The firemen later discover that the fire was started by a cake in the oven that had gone unattended by accident, and even though Imogene Herdman admits she was indeed angry at the adults and yes, she was smoking a cigar in the bathroom, she did not start the fire. In these times of prejudice, I think it’s important to be reminded that we should offer people the benefit of the doubt and not be so quick to jump to conclusions. People should be considered innocent until proven guilty, and the intent of their actions is known. Such is the meaning of showing grace to our fellow man.