Review: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Charming faith-based comedy preaches to the choir.

I’ve seen less than a handful of episodes of The Chosen, Dallas Jenkins’ television series that retells the Christ story, but I’ve heard nothing but raves¹. Many come from critics and fans I trust, who say that the show finds a new approach to the gospels free of the usual trappings of religious entertainment.

I don’t know that The Best Christmas Pageant Ever similarly transcends faith-based entertainment, but it’s more proof that Jenkins understands how to tell these stories with charm and creativity. It’s a breezy and enjoyable entry into the holiday canon. And if it can’t help but preach to the choir, at least in this case, it’s a message the choir probably needs to hear. 

Based on Barbara Robinson’s children’s book – previously made into a TV movie – the film centers around the annual Christmas pageant put on at a small-town church. The beloved event hasn’t changed in 75 years, and the church members are perfectly fine with that. When the longtime director is unable to participate, church member Grace (Judy Greer) volunteers. A stressful task becomes nigh impossible when the Herdman clan – six of the the “worst kids in the history of kids” – show up seeking snacks and demanding roles. Actually, it’s worse than that; the eldest, Imogene, insists that she play Mary and her brother play “Joe.” The feral youngest wants to be an angel. The rest are happy to be wise men, so long as they can rewrite the script and beat up Herod. 

Jenkins aims for a vibe similar to A Christmas Story, told through a nostalgic filter and gaining much of its humor from the behavior of rotten kids. It’s a bit too sweet-hearted and precocious to rival Bob Clark’s film, but the humor will hit with younger audiences and probably get a few gentle chuckles from grownups. Sure, it veers into cliché a few times — would you be surprised to that few people know the Herdmans receive charity from the church and their problems stem from absent parents? — but it’s heart is in the right place, and I’m willing to forgive a cliché or two in my Christmas movies.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is pitched largely at families, and it’s sweet, pleasant and gently funny. Kids will love the Herdmans’ hijinks, and parents will enjoy the carol-laden soundtrack and the overall holiday vibe, all presided over by narrator Lauren Graham. Greer has long deserved to be fronting larger projects, and while I wish there were more of a character to Grace other than the film’s voice of reason, Greer is perfectly fine in the role. It’s surprising to see comedian Pete Holmes in the film, as much of his stand-up act has been based on his deconstruction from his evangelical background. I’d hoped his presence meant the film might offer a bit more of a poke to typical Christian movie fodder, but Holmes largely mugs for the camera and spouts dad jokes. Most of the adults are caricatures, either good-hearted saints or stick-in-the-mud holy rollers, but the performances are fine and in line with the kid-friendly tone. You could wish for it to be a bit deeper, grittier or biting, but that’s not really the assignment.

The movie’s most successful when it comes to the Herdmans. The child actors are charming and fun, particularly Beatrice Schneider, who has the film’s most prominent and affecting arc as Imogene turns from holy terror to playing Holy Virgin. Jenkins’ interest in finding new angles on the Gospel story pays off in the scenes where the characters talk about the Nativity story; a first time for some and like the first time for the others. The Herdmans’ questions allow Jenkins to explore the weirdness, violence and sadness of Gospel accounts. The Christmas story loses something when it becomes just another rote and airless tradition; by hearing it for the first time – particularly through eyes that are not the privileged middle class American ones (the film even makes a nod to the fact that Mary and Joseph were refugees) – it feels fresh. I’ll admit there were a few moments that moved me to tears.

The film refreshingly keeps its preaching largely to the converted, particularly those who might need a refresher on their values. Grace must confront the fact that some of her church’s most respected members are stubborn, pious and ungraceful, and teach them that inclusion and acceptance are at the heart of the Christmas story. I’m sure every congregation has the sandpaper saints they wish were cast out or swept into a corner, and it’s easy to forget that the faith teaches Christ had the humblest of births and spent most of his time with those the religious elite called outcasts and losers. Mercy and love are nothing if they’re not lavished on those the world otherwise ignores, and Jenkins saves the film’s bluntest lessons for those who may have forgotten the heart of the Gospel.

Will The Best Christmas Pageant Ever become a perennial classic? It’s possible. My kids loved it, and I’ll admit that I walked out eager to pop on some holiday tunes. I don’t know that it has the energy or wit of Home Alone or A Christmas Story, but it’s a big-hearted and sweet experience, and I wouldn’t mind it being added to our rotation in the future. It’s an enjoyable faith-based movie which, in its way, is its own Christmas miracle.

1. I have been meaning to get around to the rest of The Chosen; I just haven’t made the time. I’ve promised my wife once Christmas is over and end-of-the-year lists are out, we’ll binge through.