Looking for a new holiday classic? These 2 films glow with Christmas spirit.
New classic Christmas movies are rare. This year, miraculously, there are two. I’m not talking about “Red One,” the action-comedy in which Santa gets abducted. Nor am I referring to “Hot Frosty,” the mildly steamy Netflix movie about a woman’s love affair with a snowman. (Not so much a May to September romance as a November to March one.)
The whole family can enjoy “That Christmas,” a bright and cheerful animated movie on Netflix starting Dec. 4. Or you can trek to the cinema to see “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” based on a popular children’s book, which has deservedly become a sleeper hit.
Both stories explore the same question: What makes Christmas meaningful? “That Christmas” takes a secular approach to that theme. “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” comes at it from a religious perspective. Yet they both commend similar qualities. In common, too, they each feature the Nativity play as a beloved tradition.
Why We Wrote This
Our reviewer sees potential for two new holiday films, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” and “That Christmas,” to become seasonal favorites. Both stories, he says, explore the same question: What makes Christmas meaningful?
In “That Christmas,” only-child Danny is a loner in the (fictitious) British town of Wellington-on-Sea. His single mother works night shifts. Danny has a secret crush on Sam, a girl at school who is a social justice crusader. “I’m shy. She’s anxious. It’s hopeless,” says Danny.
“That Christmas” was co-written by Peter Souter and Richard Curtis, the creator of “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “Love Actually.” Characters abound. Among them are Sam’s twin sister, Charlie, a troublemaker who frets that she’ll be on the naughty list. There’s also Ms. Trapper, a stern teacher who takes an interest in supervising Danny. Her wisdom is born out of a moving backstory.
We meet them all at the annual Christmas pageant. Sam has scripted it to be “a strictly vegetarian, multicultural funfest with lots of pop songs and stuff about climate change.”
In this telling of the Nativity story, there are three wise women, the shepherds have been replaced by farmers who harvest organic vegetables, and there aren’t any hymns. Instead, Jesus’ mother sings Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach” with its chorus, “I made up my mind, I’m keeping my baby.”
This isn’t the King James Version. It’s more like a ChatGPT version designed to appeal to Greta Thunberg. (Or to a secular Netflix audience.) The storyline has lots of episodic high jinks, but it’s the quieter moments of character growth that resonate.
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” set in the early 1970s, features a more recognizable version of the Nativity play. One that’s too traditional. The small American town of Emmanuel has been trotting out the same tired production for nearly 75 years. When the longtime director has an accident, a mother of two named Grace takes over. She lacks theatrical experience. Complicating matters: A family of redheaded children, the Herdmans, gate-crashes the auditions.
“The Herdmans are the worst kids in the history of the world,” declares the narrator, voiced by Lauren Graham. These six uncouth, unwashed, unacculturated bullies make the team of kids in “The Bad News Bears” seem as prim as the von Trapp family. They’ve been drawn to the pageant rehearsals by the church’s plentiful provision of snacks. Imogene, the preteen leader of the clan, stages a coup by getting cast as Jesus’ mother.
“You’re too dirty to play Mary,” sneers Alice, a snooty girl who’s accustomed to playing the lead role. Imogene begins to doubt her own worthiness of portraying the virgin mother, depicted as a beatific figure in a painting in the church foyer.
In both movies, characters have become so inward-focused that they’ve lost sight of cherishing those less fortunate. Danny, in “That Christmas,” has lost perspective on how minor his problems are compared with what other people are dealing with.
In “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” the pious church seems more like a “Members only!” country club than like a loving sanctuary. Grace, charmingly played by journeyman character actor Judy Greer, reminds her two children of the importance of Christian grace and care for those who are downtrodden. The film is directed by Dallas Jenkins, the creator of “The Chosen,” a long-running TV series about Jesus’ life. His tonally perfect adaptation of Barbara Robinson’s book boasts a gentle wit. He deftly conveys the movie’s message without a heavy hand.
Ultimately, both stories are about transformation. Misunderstood characters turn out to possess hidden virtues and innate goodness.
The most indelible scene of either movie comes near the end of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” (PSA: You’ll want to have a tissue handy.) Imogene realizes that Christmas isn’t just a celebration of Jesus’ birth. The season is an opportunity for one’s own rebirth.
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” (4 stars) is rated PG for thematic material and brief underage smoking. “That Christmas” (3.5 stars) will stream on Netflix starting Dec. 4. It is rated PG for thematic elements, some language, and rude humor.
