
The movie under the title The Christmas Pageant is an adaptation of the novel “The Worst Children in the World” which by the way was written in 1972 by Barbara Robinson. Its director Dallas Jenkins has put a lot of effort into the movie to spread the core message of hope and kindness over the world. Like Barbara Robinson, Jenkins has equally been chasing his dreams for twenty years.
As the book and its television-adapted version that aired in 1983 where an adult Beth stars as Grace, let’s take a look into what she had to say. As an adult, Grace said, “The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world. They lied, they stole, they smoked cigars. They hit little kids, even if the kids were bigger than they were. They took the Lord’s name in vain. They dissed teachers. They even set fire to the tool shed.” This gives us context into what then happens next, Young Beth (soulful-eyed Molly Belle Wright) who is the main character is restrained by Imogen Herdman (Beatrice Schneider) from wearing the necklace that she wants to.
The Christmas pageant happens to be the core of the Book, Josie’s character in the movie reaches out to Beth’s mother Grace (Judy Greer) in hopes for her to sponsor it.
Charlie, one of the siblings, tells the Herdmans that the church has better food than the ones served at their school, and because of their behavior, he has to get a new dessert every time. Later, when Grace is assigning parts for the pageant, the Herdmans show up without knowing anything about the nativity story.
The oldest sister, Imogene, who is the head of their group, loves watching movies and delves into performing and acting by ‘pretending to be someone else’. As bullies, they see it as an act of raw power, grabbing something once owned by someone else. They refuse to perform unless they are given the roles with Imogene as Mary, one of her brothers as Joseph, three of her younger brothers as the three wise men, and their baby sister, Kynlee Heiman dressed as an angel minus the two front teeth who screams at shepherds. To her, rather, sides with her.
As it stands, Grace has to contend with women who think that they have the upper hand in the situation. They are adamant about deciding how the pageant should be done and are unwilling to budge. One of the mothers has to be cast as Mary once again and the rest of the pageant remains the same. Such women view the Herdman kids as worthless filthy, violent, undisciplined, and even terrifying to adults.
To visit families in need and provide them with the ingredients for a new meal, Beth’s father Bob (a gently amiable Pete Holmes) takes his family with him, and Grace, Beth, and Charlie discover that the Herdman kids are close to being wild, lacking a father and having a mother who is constantly working. What we learn, Grace opts to let them join an activity, to show that they are included.
This film takes us to a nostalgia that is mixed with some childhood memories of Beth brought to life with the help of Jean-Andre Carriere’s cinematic touch. However, what stands out is Bob picking a fight with the foil-wrapped TV dinner placed on the stacked table as if a scene out of a 50s sitcom. And the best part of the film as seen in the title, the beauty pageant seems to be doing well judging the growth and popularity it has been able to attain, however, the viewers after watching the development of the characters and amending actions taken by the Herdmans, have a quite strong engagement with the show’s growth and demand for future trust. The pacing of the film was also quite troubling because all the viewers got as an end credit update was that most of them were prosperous and had cheerful adult lives, which was a rushed and incomplete message that the audience desired more.
Nonetheless, the movie remains appealing as it’s able to convey its religious ideas with a wittiness, tenderness, and magnanimity. Grace narrates how Beth’s snooty community ladies are mistaken for believing that Jesus intends them to be always perfect and wait for them until they are invited to immediately endorse the people who don’t get endorsed anywhere else, such as the church. Before they visited the church, the Herdmans had not been exposed to the Nativity narrative. As they seek to further understand the topic, a great image is portrayed amid their quest in a public library where they go exploring the story set for the first time, as a learning space open to all and judgment-free. Truly, this is a refreshing change amid some disagreements at the moment. Schneider is excellent in the story’s most complicated role, showing that Imogene is hungry for a reason to be vulnerable.
The film does a remarkable job of making the ending more thoughtful than it would have been had Herdman turned into a well-behaved and happy kid. They do take an interesting and meaningful approach to the old tale simply because their perspective is entirely different. Their perspective of being angry at both the innkeeper and Herod is completely different from what everyone else in the congregation thinks. Such emotions enable the Herdmans to connect with the antique victims of abuse. In doing so, the adults are reminded of the bravery and vulnerability Mary and Joseph possess.
Gladys caused her mother to lose focus by tossing Mary fair away, instead of having a delighted look as Mary tried to do Imogene’s doll fake Jesus. People start realizing how Mary’s doll feels like a newborn and, for that reason, Joseph and Mary fail to get their beefy part. They slowly begin to get more and more Jeez how she remembers how hard Imogene tried to baby Jesus and then she had to start using the battered doll instead of berating it. To put it simply, the little ones Aunt Dorothy has are not just toys because Mary has so many duties to do. The message of the film is woven around the interdependence of what the community is as well as what the Herdmans are.
Every family has a book they pick every single time they go on a vacation. For some weird reason, it has to be their childhood favorite and according to most readers of this blog starting Eugene Robinson’s book past the title is a criminal crime. No, I don’t blame them. It has rebel children for humor, an adoring family for cuteness, and soft family bonding moments for motivation. All of these things are depicted in this book because it pays attention to detail and has such an appreciation for it, all of its lessons of how kindness and inclusion create value for both sides are such an eye-raise as well as its subtle encouragements of suggestions to go into all of the dominant, ancient, and greatest tale with a new approach in connection may be an even better message to embrace.
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