When the calendar passes October 31^st, American culture and society seems to immediately forget about Halloween and enter straight into Christmas.  If you are a practicing Catholic like me, you will know that there is still roughly four weeks until Advent, which is still technically not the Christmas season.  Yet, since it is meant to be a time of preparation for Jesus’ arrival, we give our fellow Catholics a pass.  I also believe there is an argument to be made to help our Christian and non-Christian friends who like to get an early start on the holiday.  I mean, can we not put some time and thought into the big day between the end of October and December 25^th, that being Thanksgiving?  Because of this, you might think I would be disinclined to see The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  Yet, the alternative was Heretic.  Since homie don’t play with those types of films, I am more than happy to put aside my pre-seasonal grievances and watch The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  Heart warming material will win over demonic any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.

The town of Emmanuel is hoping that The Best Christmas Pageant Ever will be the milestone 75^th anniversary one. There is a lot riding on it, aside from being three-quarters of the way to 100, since there will be former cast members attending.  As such, the pressure is on to get it right.  This is all told to us by the narrator (Lauren Graham), who is young Beth Bradley (Molly Belle Wright) in our story.  Before we get to their annual production, we are introduced to the six Herdman children.  They need not all be named, though their clear leader is Imogene Herdman (Beatrice Schneider).  The cigar smoking pre-teen is the ring leader of her siblings, who bully not only kids at their school, but basically the entire town.  They are able to get away with fighting, stealing, and being general menaces because their parents are never seen.  Their behavior is underscored when Beth’s classmate, Imogene, steals Beth’s locket that had been a family heirloom, snatching it directly off her neck.  For the most part, the town hides from the Herdmans, or shuns them in other ways.  For instance, never are the Herdmans seen in church.  This is great news for Mrs. Armstrong (Mariam Bernstein), the person who has been in charge of the pageant for decades and is expecting to put on the same performance for such a critical year.  This changes when she falls and breaks both her legs.  The person who volunteers to direct the show is Beth’s mother, Grace Bradley (Judy Greer).  This would work out fine if not for her son, Charlie Bradley (Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez), and his run-in with Claude Herdman (Matthew Lamb).  For three days straight, Claude steals Charlie’s lunch.  On the third, wanting to one-up the thief, Charlie plays off the loss of his food by saying that he will get plenty to eat the next day at Sunday School at church.  With thoughts of free meals guiding them, guess who shows up for the next Sabath?  Despite their usual Herdman antics, Imogene is drawn to the picture of Mary with the Child Jesus in the back of the church.  It inspires her, if that is the right word, to volunteer her and her siblings for the pageant.  When the other children, particularly Alice Wendelken (Lorelei Olivia Mote) who had always played Mary, express their horror and shock, the Herdmans intimidate them into submission.  Grace is not thrilled about the prospect of having the problem children fill the majority of the roles.  She is also under a lot of pressure from the other parents, chief among them being Mrs. Wendelken (Danielle Hoetmer), Alice’s mother.  Grace is about to give in to their demands, especially as the Herdmans make simple rehearsals a chore, until her husband, Bob Bradley (Pete Holmes), shows them something remarkable.  Bob volunteers to bring food and presents to underprivileged families, and the Herdmans are on his list. Grace and the children go with them, and witness firsthand the joy with which the Herdmans receive the ham.  Beth is touched by what she sees, and affected, too, by the way Alice shuns her for being apparently soft on the Herdmans.  Beth’s feelings are further changed when Imogene requests help checking out the Bible from the library.  Beth takes the Herdmans to the library because she has a library card and watches as they study for their parts in the pageant, with Imogene taking time to read intently about Mary.  They look like they might be ready for the day of the final dress rehearsal, but still most of the rest of the congregation do not look kindly on the Herdmans’ involvement.  On the evening of the last run-through, the rest of the congregation is preparing for a community potluck.  This means there are others present on church grounds.  Hence, when someone smells smoke coming from the restroom, the assumption is that the Herdmans have set a fire.  When the firefighters come, they determine a burned cake is the culprit, but the Herdmans have already vanished.  With the pageant being the next day, Beth goes to make a plea to Imogene that her and her siblings reconsider quitting.  Imogene claims they are done, but they end up coming anyway.  Though they put their inevitable mark on the proceedings, but what touches those gathered the most is seeing the emotion Imogene expresses in looking at the Infant Jesus in the manger.  It is the face of tearful gratitude, and it gives everyone the Christmas spirit.  It is not long after this that we fast forward to modern times and learn that an adult Beth is in the same position occupied by her mother, her re-telling of these events getting all the kids wanting to be in the pageant.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is the fourth film produced by the Kingdom Story Company, a Christian production company.  The others I have seen include American Underdog (2021), Jesus Revolution (2023), and Ordinary Angels.  Each have been enjoyable, not simply because of their Christian message, but because they are well made and acted.  They also attract some notable talent, which would seem to argue against the culture war I believe Hollywood wages against Christianity.  If they can get names like Zachary Levi, Kelsey Grammer, Hilary Swank, and now Judy Greer to be in their films, then maybe it is not as bad as I purport it be?  None of the actors and actresses, outside of Levi, are known for their Christian beliefs.  Greer is especially interesting in this light if you are familiar with her work in television shows like Arrested Development (2003-2019) and Archer (2009-2023).  In those, she plays characters vastly different than Grace Bradley.  Of course, one could respond by pointing out that, even though they are well paid for their services, they are still working people and that being in a film like The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is just another gig.  This is true, a fact that I cannot deny.  At the same time, I also cannot say that any of this speaks against the ongoing culture war I mentioned ago.  A trip to the theater this weekend would support my theory.  I mentioned in the introduction specifically avoiding Heretic.  As I walked along the rows of theaters to mine this evening, I also noticed Conclave still playing.  That is another movie I avoided.  While not a horror flick, at least not purposely, I chose not to sit through something that, as I have heard, involves the Church electing an intersex person to be pope.  As I understand it, too, it is done in an unflattering manner that does not take into account correct Church teachings on these issues.  The fact that two movies are out that could be construed as anti-Christian would not necessarily suggest an agenda.  Yet, I also note that their respective Wikipedia pages are well-formed, whereas that for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever contains little information.  It is circumstantial evidence, of course, but interesting all the same.

What is also interesting about The Best Christmas Pageant Ever are the embellishments the Herdmans make to the show. Of course, there is a great deal of material to discuss from a Catholic perspective, but I would like to hone in on one of the smallest ones.  It is with three of the younger Herdman brothers in the roles of the Wise Men bringing their gifts to the Nativity.  Instead of the Biblically correct gold, frankincense, and myrrh, they present the ham Bob had brought them.  The boys earlier complain about not understanding why anyone would bring Jesus, the King of kings, a bunch of junk.  They voice their opinions after they begin to learn more about Jesus from hearing Bible stories and doing their own, albeit idiosyncratic, research.  While the Herdmans did not follow Scripture faithfully, it does remind me of other parts of the Bible.  There is Mark 12:41-44, when Jesus tells His disciples about the poor widow who puts two small coins into the temple treasury, while also observing the large sums of money deposited by richer people.  Jesus points out that her gift was greater than the others because they gave from surplus, while hers constituted her entire livelihood.  The woman’s actions represent a level of trust in God that is the real reason for Jesus’ praise of her.  This applies to the Herdmans because the ham could have fed them for a long time.  Further, as has been hinted at, their food motivation is what brought them into the church in the first place, and elsewhere it is suggested that their family has little to eat at home.  It is scary to take such a step towards God.  We are used to instant gratification, which does not make us all the different from the Herdmans.  Whenever we act out like that, be it bullying others to get what we want or fulfilling some other perceived need, it comes from a place of woundedness.  Yet, the opportunity always remains to turn away from out selfish behavior and allow ourselves to be transformed by God.  This is what the Herdmans’ actions represent.

With the Christmas season fast approaching, no matter which version that means, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is likely to get lost among the other films that are meant to be in the same spirit.  Already, if you have any streaming services, you can find holiday appropriate titles galore.  What is less likely to be found among them is a similar message to today’s movie.  This is why I recommend it.