Judy Greer in Holiday Movies

in dallas jenkins Best Christmas pageant everA group of kids wreak havoc on Emanuel, a small town somewhere in America, every day. According to the narrator (Lauren Graham) of this uneven story, the herdsmen are “the worst kids in the history of the world” – a title given to Ralph (Mason D. Nelligan) , Leroy (Evan Wood), Claude (Matthew Lamb), Ollie (Essek Moore), Gladys (Kimley Hayman) and Imogen ( Beatrice Schneider) pulls off a series of pranks that range from the personally offensive to the downright harmful.

A playful montage at the beginning of the holiday feature shows herders bullying children and adults with impunity; taking the Lord’s name in vain; smoking cigars; stealing from local businesses and even setting fire to a dilapidated shack. The narrator says that community residents have little faith that the herdsmen are “real” because of their distasteful behavior. “No one knows why they do it.” It seems that few people—sometimes including the filmmakers—sincerely want to find out.

Based on the 1972 children’s book by Barbara Robinson, Best Christmas pageant ever is a classic American story that highlights the non-commercial significance of the holiday. Based on a script by Ryan Swanson, Platte Clark and Darian McDaniel, Jenkins (best known for chosen persona historical drama about the life of Jesus) tells a story that wavers between poignancy and emotional sterility.

While the film depicts petty feuds in a small town, or between protagonist Beth (Molly Bell Wright, who plays a younger version of Graham’s narrator) and her mother Grace (Judy Greer) The film comes to life when it comes to the relationship between the characters. But it lacks the same energy when it turns its attention to pastoralists, who seem increasingly like ciphers for the film’s church themes.

The plot opens with the injury of Mrs. Armstrong (Mariam Bernstein), the director of Emanuel’s annual Christmas pageant, who is forced to hand over oversight of this year’s show to Grace, who is disrespected by the other church mothers. she. The film doesn’t detail all of the dynamics between the women, but there are several moments that recall Kelly Fremon Craig’s Judy Blume adaptation In the movie, Barbara, played by Rachel McAdams, has a fish-out-of-water scene with the PTA moms. God, are you there? It’s me, Margaret. Like Barbara, Grace wanted to prove to this judgmental cadre that she could be trusted to maintain this storied tradition. Her relationship with her daughter also echoes that of Barbara and Margaret, another solid example of an uplifting mother-daughter relationship.

This year’s pageant, the town’s 75th and a major fundraiser, is stressful, so when the Herdmans bully their way into the main roles, Grace panics. How could she get these notoriously unruly children to behave? She initially brainstormed with husband Bob (Pete Holmes) and Beth, but the three didn’t have to plan for long. It turns out that the story of Jesus is enough. Pastoral parents always seemed to be working and they never went to church. When six children reluctantly arrive at Sunday school, lured by the promise of free food, they soon find themselves captivated by the story of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.

Why wouldn’t they? As pastoralists were exposed to the biblical narrative, they discovered similarities between themselves and the Holy Family. Scenes of young staff checking out books in the library and reading each word carefully as they see themselves in the pages are evocative of the impact stories have on young people and how they can open up whole worlds to their readers.

Especially Imogen, Mary’s story gave her strength. The young girl secretly wishes she was as polished and beautiful as popular girl Alice (Lorelai Olivia Mott), but she gradually realizes that resilience is a form of beauty in itself. The rough edges of Snyder’s unruly adolescent belie a softer, more sincere side, making it easier to believe in Imogen’s transformation. But it also highlights the sense of incompleteness in the pastoralist story. Best Christmas pageant ever The most poignant moments are never quite reached as Imogen and her siblings stubbornly keep their distance.

Jenkins gives us a glimpse into the lives of these children Best Christmas pageant evermore sustained attention—more backstory about absent parents, or more insight into the daily lives of the herders—would have made the film more complex. It would have highlighted the extent to which the townspeople’s disdain for the tribe stems from classism, and how a rejection of difference contradicts the tenets they profess to believe. Gain a more powerful understanding of Jenkins’s lessons about how community shapes the true meaning of Christmas.