Blogmas Day 19: Movie Review: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024)

Hello! Welcome to Blogmas Day 19!

Honestly, I’m super stressed today, but let’s do a jigsaw puzzle and talk about a great Christmas movie.

Advent Calendar

Bottom left corner means it’s 6 days until Christmas!

Movie Review: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024)

Synopsis

A small town’s historic Christmas pageant is taken over by the Herdman children: 6 siblings who seem to be raising themselves and have the feral behaviours to prove it. The whole town is scandalized that the pageant’s new director, Grace, is allowing it to happen, but maybe all the Herdmans need is for someone to give them a chance. Isn’t that what Christmas is truly about?

My Review

I have a new top 10 favourite Christmas movie. And I had no idea until a few days ago that it even existed!

I mentioned in my Favourite Christmas Books post a few days ago that I’ve always loved The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. I used to watch the 1983 TV movie every year as a kid, but after a while, it was impossible to find. I’ve never understood why it wasn’t remade for a modern audience. Well, now it has been, and it is WONDERFUL.

The cast

The 2024 remake stars Molly Belle Wright as Beth, Beatrice Schneider as Imogene, Judy Greer as Beth’s longsuffering mom Grace, and Lauren Graham as adult Beth narrating the story. Each one of these actresses, as well as every single other member of the cast, does a phenomenal job. Beth is just the right amount of terrified and reluctant while also being kind and brave. Grace is just the right amount of naively optimistic while also being wise and loving. Adult Beth is just the right amount of hilarious while also telling a touching story. And Imogene steals the entire movie, as she should.

Imogene Herdman is the reason I love this story so much. For all the hilarious hijinks of the first 98% of the book, the ending with Imogene’s transformation makes me cry. The perfect Imogene Herdman needs to be believable both as the tough-as-nails big sister of the family the whole town fears AND as the pageant’s gentle Mary who stuns the whole town with her genuine emotion. Beatrice Schneider WAS Imogene Herdman. When she cried, so did I.

Faithfulness to the book vs artistic license

I was actually surprised how faithful to the book this movie was. All of the best moments were in here, right down to Alice’s vaselined eyelids. 🤣 But as much as I adore and would fight to protect the book, I think the movie is stronger for making a few slight changes. Beth’s parents, especially her mom, get more of a spotlight in the movie, which helps to really get across the depth of judgment and neglect the Herdman children experience from all the other adults in town. I loved that both of Beth’s parents look out for these kids when everyone else in town writes them off. I also loved the library montage, when the Herdman kids dove deep into researching the Christmas story.

But the best added touch for me was the ending, when we’re given a little update on how each Herdman is doing as an adult. Their futures were so fitting for each of them. Imogene’s made me cry even harder.

What the Herdmans mean to me

I think the reason that I love this story so much is that I was basically Beth as a kid. My parents worked in children’s ministries at our church, and I saw some kids in really horrible situations. I saw wild, neglected kids like the Herdmans, and I saw how they could transform just by someone showing them kindness and patience. And yes, seeing kids like that hearing Bible stories for the first time and asking questions does make you think a little deeper about things you’ve always taken for granted as a “church kid.”

I adore that book. I adore this movie! It’s definitely one I’ll have to watch every year from now on. 🥰

Hey! Unto you a child is born!