KSL Movie Show review: ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ is heartfelt

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SALT LAKE CITY — In our eternal search for the best Christmas movie ever (sorry, this is one time that Die Hard doesn’t count), we scroll through our annual favorites to get in the proper mood for the season. The list usually includes the standards – “Miracle on 34th Street,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Elf,” “White Christmas” and invariably the off-beat, humorous “A Christmas Story.”

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Now don’t freak out here, but I may have found the perfect companion piece to go along with Bumpus’s dogs and the “fragile” leg lamp.

This ‘Christmas Pageant’ isn’t the made-for-TV special

It’s “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” No, not the sad ABC made-for-TV special from 1983 starring MASH’s Loretta Swit. I’m talking about a new effort brought to us by Dallas Jenkins, creator of “The Chosen,” who has breathed new life into this once forgotten tale of how the worst kids in town nearly destroyed the sacred annual event.

Based on a children’s novel written by Barbara Robinson in 1972, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” tells the story of six miscreants, the Herdman children, who are notorious troublemakers, doing everything from stealing, smoking, cussing, drinking, bullying to,  you know,  all the other bad “ings.”

They are led by the oldest Imogene (Beatrice Schneider). She was left in charge after daddy took a train going anywhere. Meanwhile, Mom is working extra shifts at the local factory. This chaos also includes Ralph, Claude, Leroy, Ollie and little nightmare Gladys.

‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ starts with a dare

It all starts when young Charlie of the Bradley family weakly tries to taunt the Herdmans. He tells them that only kids who go to church get special treats on Sunday. The dare backfires as the Herdman herd shows up to Sunday school. The little dumpster-diving vermin proceed to ravage the post-service buffet.

In hopes of getting more goodies, they sit impatiently while Grace Bradley (Judy Greer) mother of Charlie and Beth, asks for volunteers to appear in this year’s show. Grace is under a lot of pressure since this is her first and perhaps last attempt to direct the pageant, after the unfortunate accident that sidelined the previous, boring director.

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All eyes are on Grace, but she has bigger fish to fry. The only ones willing to volunteer for the key roles are the Herdman kids. The others are too afraid to step forward as they are getting massive amounts of side-eye from the aforementioned hooligan Herd-maniacs!

Of course, the other parishioners go into meltdown, as talks of canceling the revered nativity extravaganza, now in its 75th year, are rampant. But Grace believes the spirit of Christmas will wrangle these “little angels” into some semblance of reverence. Oh boy, is she in for a joy-to-the-world ride. And by the way, so are we.

For you “doubting Thomases” out there, get ready to be amazed. This movie takes an adorable, heartfelt and fun direction to get you in the holiday mood. I don’t believe you’ll be disappointed.

“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” (B+) Rated PG for thematic material and brief underage smoking. Starring Judy Greer, Pete Holmes, Beatrice Schneider, Molly Belle Wright and Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez. Directed by Dallas Jenkins (“The Chosen” TV series “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone”) – filmed in Winnipeg, Canada. Running time: 99 minutes.

The KSL Movie Show with Andy Farnsworth and Steve Salles airs Fridays on KSL NewsRadio from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Follow the show on Facebook, and join The KSL Movie Show Club for exclusive perks by texting MOVIE to 57500. Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to cancel. Message frequency varies.