‘Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ – Your Next Yuletide Tradition?

How many Christmas movies forget the reason for the season? Too many to count.

Not “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”

The romp puts faith front and center without pushing secular souls away. It’s a warm-hearted treatise on God, family and community, sparked by the 1972 novel of the same name by Barbara Robinson.

Every year finds dozens of films vying for the title of Your Family’s Next Christmas Tradition. Few, if any, come close. The cringe … the cringe.

“Pageant” might actually reach that lofty status.

The Herdman clan rules over a sleepy hamlet in Everytown USA. Think the Bumpuses from “A Christmas Story,” but far worse.

These six monsters are the heart of “Pageant,” to the chagrin of everyone in town. Young Beth (Molly Belle Wright) is just one of many victims of their collective bullying.

She’s aghast when her mother Grace (Judy Greer, sublime) is put in charge of the town’s annual Christmas pageant. Not only is it a tricky task given the sky-high expectations, but the Herdmans inexplicably sign on to play key roles in the show.

Imogene (Beatrice Schneider), the toughest of the clan, is playing Mary? Sacrilege. And Grace can’t talk them out of it.

The fallout could be immense.

• Will the show’s 75th edition be its last?
• Will the pageant go from a cultural treasure to a garbage fire of epic proportions?
• Or will the Herdman clan learn something about God and themselves during the production?

The film’s opening outlines just how incorrigible these kids can be. It’s slapstick on steroids, and while the story moves past these snippets the scene is most certainly set.

Can these savages be convincingly redeemed? Better yet, what about the town’s busybodies?

“Pageant” walks us through the Christmas story as if we had never heard it before. The shrewd approach opens up the tale to not just the Herdmans but anyone needing a refresher.

What follows is a warm, winning comedy cast to near-perfection. Imogene is a brawler at heart, and arguably the worst choice to play Mary.

At least on paper.

In “Pageant,” she sees herself as a mother figure to her rambunctious brood. And it’s high time she started taking the role seriously.

Imogene finds something personal in Mary’s story, giving the role the emotional heft it deserves. Schneider’s plaintive face is the film’s superpower.

Lauren Graham supplies the Jean Shepherd-style narration as the adult Beth, looking back on the most colorful year of her young life. She can’t duplicate what Shepherd brought to that holiday staple, but her perspective adds an intoxicating layer of nostalgia.

Pete Holmes doesn’t get enough scenes as Beth’s father, but he nails every comic moment without falling back on the “dopey father” trope. He needs more big-screen roles. Obviously.

“Pageant” suggests an expansive view of faith, one unshackled by sterile traditions. God’s love doesn’t demand strict fidelity, just an open heart and acceptance. It’s downright subversive, showcasing anew how far faith-based films have come in a short time.

That may come as no surprise since Dallas Jenkins of “The Chosen” fame is behind the camera.

Can you feel the Christmas spirit? Because we sure did, even in-between takes! #BestChristmasPageantEver. pic.twitter.com/eszZHdAxRa

— Kingdom Story Company (@KingdomStoryCo) October 29, 2024

The story also flexes the potency of art in ways few films can match. The Herdman’s redemption comes courtesy of faith, but the production is the match that lights the flame. Not only is “Pageant” a well-orchestrated feature, it doubles as an examination of art in our lives.

That might not matter if the titular production didn’t live up to the hype. It does, and keeping tissues within reach is suggested.

We’ll get a new flood of Christmas films in the coming days, many coming from Netflix and The Hallmark Channel. Leave it to “The Chosen’s” creator to put Christ back into a timeless Christmas movie.

HiT or Miss: “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is a minor miracle, a faith-kissed story that welcomes anyone famished for a redemption yarn.

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