The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Review + Giveaway

The newest film from Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company is based on the beloved children’s book classic book The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson which has sold more than 7 million copies since its publication in 1972.

The Herdman kids are absolutely the worst. They lie, they steal, they bully . . . and they’ve hijacked the town Christmas pageant. 

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever follows six siblings who sneak into church searching for snacks and walk away with the lead roles in the town pageant. Grace (Judy Greer) is directing the performance for the very first time; she and her daughter Beth (Molly Belle Wright) and husband Bob (Pete Holmes) are less than amused. 

Surprisingly, the play’s mischievous stars might unwittingly teach a community the true meaning of Christmas. Buy tickets today to see The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in theaters starting November 8th!

 

Since this book was written in the 1970s, I love that the film stays true to the time period. Some remakes take the story from the past and place it in modern times. As the film begins to unfold the viewer quickly realizes that you are being transported back into a time of simplicity, community, and station wagons. The clothing, the television sets in the homes, and the rotary phones complete with awkward cords almost do not seem out of place for those of us who grew up with these amenities that were simply the way of life back then. 

As a kid I was a reader and this book was a favorite. I read it over and over and was shocked to find out from my daughter that it is actually one of three books in a series. I had no idea! Clearly, this one was the most popular and even became a television special played religiously in the 1980s at Christmas time. Between the book and the movie, I was a huge fan of this story. When I began homeschooling, I made sure to introduce my kids to this story at a young age. We even attended the play when they were little at a local theater.  

The cast in this film about to hit the theaters was absolutely incredible. I was extremely impressed with who was involved in this project which made the film super easy to watch. My main issue though was it did not seem like the script matched the quality of the excellent cast. At times you couldn't tell because the actors were so good, especially Judy Greer. The best parts were the ones taken directly from the book. 

Overall, my family laughed, cried, and absolutely loved this film. With commercialism overtaking the Christmas season, this movie brings us back to the true meaning of Christmas. Religion is overtaking the church these days—and not in a good way. I remember the first time I shared the Christmas story with a young girl, right here in America, I was shocked that she had never heard it before. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. 

Sometimes we forget that there are children, even adults, who do not know the Christmas story—or the gospel. One of the best scenes in this film is when the Herdmans hear the story of Christmas for the first time, which leads to an incredible story which unfolds in this movie—learning about the true meaning of Christmas. Buy your tickets today!

To Celebrate this Beautiful Film Enter to Win a 

$10 Amazon Gift Card Below

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: Many thanks to Kingdom Faith Marketing Services for providing a sample of the product for this review. 

Opinions are 100% my own.