Director Dallas Jenkins mixes chaos and Christmas in a new holiday film.
By Bob Tremblay/Boston Movie News
Full disclosure: I’m a Christian—a Catholic, to be precise—who typically finds Christian films, specifically the ones that preach and sermonize ad nauseum, as enjoyable as kneeling on nails. If I want to hear preaching and sermonizing, I’ll go to church, not the movie theater.
In addition to being heavy-handed, these films are highly—can I say sinfully?—predictable. No matter how horrible things get, everyone finds the joy of Jesus in the end, and all the bad people suddenly become good people. Praise the cliche.
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” displays many of these elements while borrowing heavily from superior Christmas movies such as “A Charlie Brown Christmas, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “A Christmas Carol,” and “A Christmas Story.”
What saves “Pageant” from falling into Hallmark Channel hell are a few touches that most faith-based films ignore like biblical plagues, such as actually questioning Christian teachings or at least looking at them from a fresh perspective. For example, when one child learns that King Herod has sent out an order to kill young children, he asks why someone didn’t just kill Herod? Another character sees in Mary someone she would like to emulate. In a scene that brought a tear to this critic’s eye, she sheds a tear while cradling a Baby Jesus doll during the pageant. Also, not everyone in this film sees the light as the ending credits roll.
Based on the 1972 novel by Barbara Robinson and the subject of a 1983 TV movie, “Pageant” tells the tale of the six Herdman siblings who terrorize the school and the town with their anti-social behavior. Can we call them hellions? The Dirty Half-Dozen? When they’re told they can get free food at the local church—a place they never visit—they show up, much to the dismay of the town’s holier-than-thous. Making matters worse, they take all the leading roles in the town’s Christmas pageant. Why? Why not? This appropriation sends self-righteous parents and snooty children, accustomed to playing the lead roles, into a tizzy.
It’s up to Grace Bradley (Judy Greer), who’s running her first pageant after the longtime director (conveniently) broke both her legs in an accident, to keep the Herdmans in line. For added pressure, it’s the town’s 75th annual pageant.
The film is set in the 1970s, but it could take place anytime. Don’t expect any rock music or drug references. Grace is a stay-at-home mom, so maybe that’s the connection. Note that the Herdmans’ mom is conveniently never seen—she works long shifts to apparently be away from her children—and the father simply left. Is that why the kids are so bad? The film could have added a comic cameo of a famous actress as the mom.
Anyway, Grace (yes, she is full of it, no, grace, I mean) does her best to keep the pageant from descending into chaos while weathering criticism of the sanctimonious townspeople. And the name of the town? Emmanuel. That translates to “God is with us.” Hey, they weren’t going to call the place Beelzebub.
The comedy-drama is directed by Dallas Jenkins, the man behind the life of Christ TV series “The Chosen,” so he’s no stranger to faith-based material. He’s working from a script from Ryan Swanson, Platte Clark, and Darin McDaniel. The team has put together a film that moves along briskly and has its humorous moments, but “Pageant” could have been so much funnier if the Herdmans were really let loose during pageant rehearsals. The problem is the filmmakers would have risked injecting levity into the Nativity. Some might object to a Christian film or Christmas film, if you like, making light of Jesus’ birth.
Also, the film suffers from TMC—too many characters. Only one of the Herdmans receives any substantial character development—Imogene (Beatrice Schneider), who plays Mary. The rest are used as comic props. We could also have used one nasty townsperson to root against instead of several. Dilutes the drama. The only other character of note, apart from Grace, is Grace’s daughter, Beth (Molly Belle Wright). Lauren Graham narrates the film as the adult Beth. Grace’s husband Bob (Pete Holmes) adds little to the story. The acting won’t generate much buzz either, though Greer and Schneider turn in fine work.
It’s unlikely the target audience will care about any drawbacks. “Pageant” is family-friendly and thankfully different enough from Hallmark and other faith-based fare. It’s important that children— and adults—see a film that stresses the true meaning of Christmas and does so without being maudlin. Wait, is that preaching?
The movie also raises significant issues, such as acceptance. The Herdmans are treated as outsiders, yet that status doesn’t mean they should never become part of the crowd. Also, while tradition, such as a pageant, is valuable, it shouldn’t come at the expense of the people who contribute.
All fundamental lessons. Now if only “Pageant” had presented them with a little more, well, divine inspiration.
‘The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever’
Rating: PG for thematic material and brief underage smoking. The film could easily be rated G.
Director: Dallas Jenkins
Writers: Ryan Swanson, Platte Clark and Darin McDaniel
Cast: Judy Greer, Pete Holmes, Molly Belle Wright and Beatrice Schneider
Running time: 99 minutes
Where to watch: In theaters Nov. 8.
Grade: B-
Bob Tremblay is the former film critic for the MetroWest Daily News in Framingham, Massachusetts.
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