The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever: Humor with Meaning

The 1972 novel, filled with laughs, is: holidays favorite. In late December, when I was speaking at a large conference of university students, I sensed before my pre-lunch presentation that the packed morning program had tired the minds of the audience in the ballroom. So I offered to discard the prepared speech and instead read the summary of the magazine article The best Christmas pageant ever. The crowd roared and I tried to keep a straight face while giving birth.

The film, like the book, attracts us with contrasts. A group of nasty, cunning troublemakers accidentally become key players in a church play about the birth of Jesus: potential juvenile delinquents and convicts rub shoulders with Sunday school children and their parents. Robinson summed up the locals’ assessment of the Herdmans: “We thought they were headed straight to hell through the state penitentiary.”

How badly did they behave? Robinson concludes: “They lied, stole, smoked cigars (even the girls), talked dirty, beat little children, and swore at their teachers.” And this is just a glance.

The Herdmans only showed up to Sunday school because they wrongly assumed there would be free desserts. One student lied about this at regular school to distract Leroy Herdman from trying to steal his lunchbox dessert. IN churchImogen Herdman swiped money from a passing basket. Children avoided Gladys Herdman because she “hits too hard.” You get a photo.

You can’t lose yourself in the fun the Herdmans are learning. They know little about the history of Christmas except that Christmas is Jesus’ birthday. The discovery that King Herod wanted to kill the newborn “King of the Jews” motivates them to lobby for a rewrite of the script of the pageant in order to execute Herod.

But with time Christmas the message is starting to get through to some people. Imogen Herdman, who plays Jesus’ mother, Mary, is upset that there was no room for Joseph and Mary at the Bethlehem inn. “Even for Jesus?” – she asks, stunned. Eventually, she begins to realize the meaning of the story of God becoming man and lying in a manger.

I won’t spoil the movie for you. The film contributes much of its faith-related humor. Some moments reminded me of a book by comedian Dick Van Dyke Faith, hope and merriment: a look at religion through the eyes of a child. Van Dyke, a former Sunday school teacher, has collected tons of funny stories about children and spirituality.

For example: “A boy described to his younger friends how great God is: ‘God is greater than Superman, Orderly and The Lone Ranger put together.” In another case, “A kind little girl was saying her prayers, but she interrupted them by saying, ‘Forgive me, God, for kicking my stupid little brother.’”

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The Bible itself admits meaning of laughter: “For everything there is a season, for every activity under heaven…. There is a time to cry and a time to laugh.” A famous proverb refers on the therapeutic values ​​of humor: “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a depressed spirit dries up the bones.”

Film director and executive producer Dallas Jenkins (The chosen ones) I’ve wanted to do this for years The best Christmas pageant ever AND he jumped on occasion when the rights became available. This film is suitable for people of any faith or no faith. A basic awareness of the main characters of Christmas – no, not Nicholas and Rudolph, but Joseph, Mary, Jesus, angels, shepherds, wise men, etc. – helps, but is not essential. This is great family fun with a moving point. Just beware that viewers’ children may imitate the Herdmans when they return home.

Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer who has spoken on six continents. His commentaries and film columns were published in newspapers across the country. His books include: Secrets of successful humor.