While we never really understood the notion of “Christmas in July,” the July release of the trailer for the likeliest hit of the 2024 Christmas season is something we can get behind. The film, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, is scheduled to come out November 8 and it has some notable names attached, not least of all director Dallas Jenkins, best known for writing, directing, and producing The Chosen.
While The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is a film that has been made before, released in 1983, the 2024 iteration is not a remake. Rather, it is a completely new adaptation of author Barbara Robinson’s 1971 children’s novel by the same name. The trailer appeared as though it will take place in the 70s, based on the style of clothes and cars, as well as the distinct lack of cell phones and other devices.
The plot of the movie follows Grace (Judy Greer) and Bob (Pete Holmes) Bradley, who are the parents of two children in a small town that prizes its church’s annual children’s Christmas pageant. This year’s show is even more important as it comes during their church’s 75th anniversary, so it needs to go off without a hitch. That’s when a monkey wrench gets thrown into the mix, as a family of delinquent children, the Herdmans, want to star in the show.
Rambunctious and somewhat misunderstood, the Herdman kids are usually unsupervised and left to their own devices, an arrangement that often sees them getting into trouble. Viewed by the upstanding members of the town as little better than Dennis the Menace, the six Herdman kids are slated to be kicked out of the pageant, but Grace refuses to reject any child from participating in the show, even if that means the town’s fears of a chaotic Christmas pageant are realized.
In the trailer, when Grace’s daughter asks what will happen if the Herdmans ruin the show for her mother, Grace responds:
“They probably will, but it’s not about me. Jesus was born for the Herdmans as much as he was for us. We’d be missing the whole point of the story if we turn them away.”
According to People, Dallas Jenkins called The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, “the film I was born to make.” He commented:
"Between my work with disadvantaged kids, my love of Christmas, my love of comedy, and the fact that I can't even talk about this story without crying, I couldn't have survived watching anyone else direct this movie."
Jenkins, who somehow found time to direct this movie for Lionsgate between seasons of The Chosen, promised comedy without the slapstick, emotion without sappiness, and a nod to the true meaning of Christmas without “feeling churchy.”
"You'll see a movie that honors the book fully because it's made by someone obsessed with the book," says the director. "I couldn't bear it if I made a movie that didn't live up to the beauty and charm of Barbara's work, and I believe we have."
Look for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in theaters across the US on November 8, 2024.
