Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The

Story

Young Beth (Molly Belle Wright) is recounting the story of the best Christmas Pageant her small hometown of Emmanuel ever put on.

Beth begins by introducing the Herdmans, 6 siblings who have terrorised Emmanuel for years. Abandoned by their father and neglected by their mother, Ollie (Essek Moore), Claude (Matthew Lamb), Leroy (Ewan Wood), Ralph (Mason D. Nelligan) and Gladys (Kynlee Heiman) are known as the ‘worst children in the history of the world’. But no-one is worse than their oldest sister, Imogene (Beatrice Schneider).

A little white lie leads the Herdmans to church, where preparations are beginning for the annual Christmas Pageant. When the pageant director is injured and can’t coordinate the event, Beth’s mum Grace (Judy Greer) volunteers to take her place. The Herdmans decide they want to play the main roles in the Christmas Pageant. They tyrannise and threaten other children, and no-one dares to defy them.

Stuck with a destructive cast who don’t know the Bible story and a town full of angry parents and unhappy children, Grace does her best to embody the Christmas spirit and share the story of Jesus with those who need it most.

Themes

Family breakdown; neglect; bullying; intimidation and manipulation

Violence

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever has some violence. For example:

The Herdman boys yell with unconcealed rage at teachers and an old woman.
The Herdmans set fire to a tool shed.
Ollie brings a demonic cat into school for ‘show and tell’. The cat destroys the special ‘show and tell’ items other children have brought. It also damages the classroom and causes everyone to flee in panic.
Imogene takes a precious locket from around Beth’s neck.
The Herdmans steal lunches from children.
The Herdmans punch students in the stomach for not having candy.
Leroy Herdman repeatedly steals the dessert out of a boy’s lunch box.
One character shoves another character.
Imogene steals the money people have donated for Christmas.
Imogene threatens to stab a pussy willow into someone’s ear and lodge it so deep that it will never come out. She’s rumoured to have done this before, and a child is shown in hospital as doctors try desperately to remove something from the side of his head.
The Herdmans gang up on the other children and throw snowballs at them.
The Herdmans repeatedly mention the idea of burning King Herod alive.
The Herdmans threaten and menace people simply by their presence.

Sexual references

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever has some sexual references. For example, one child is horrified by the mention of Mary’s pregnancy and she tells her disapproving mother.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

There’s no use of substances in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

Nudity and sexual activity

There’s no nudity or sexual activity in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

Coarse language

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever has some coarse language, name-calling and insults, including ‘Shut up!’, ‘stupid’, ‘Stuff it!’, ‘dumbbell’, ‘jerks’, ‘My God!’ and ‘dummy’. Also, the Herdmans are rumoured to repeatedly take the Lord’s name in vain.

Ideas to discuss with your children

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is a warm-hearted drama about the true meaning of Christmas. The movie is well-cast and contains powerful messages about forgiving others, becoming a better person, and seeing the world through the eyes of people who see things differently from you.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is best suited to viewers over the age of 7 years.

The main messages from The Best Christmas Pageant Ever are that Jesus was born for everyone. He doesn’t belong simply to his faithful followers but also to the sinners and most especially to children. His life and teachings of love and kindness have the power to transform the hearts of everyone, even people who think they don’t need Him.

Values in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever that you could reinforce with your children include compassion, forgiveness, trust, prayerfulness, courage and faith.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever could also give you the chance to talk with your children about giving others the opportunity to prove themselves and treating them with respect and understanding, no matter how they treat you.