A tale of rotten kids who may spoil the holidays for others, 2024’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever promises an edgier than normal Yuletide tale. We’ll see if it delivers.

Apparently devoid of parental guidance, the six Herdman kids – Ralph (Mason Nelligan), Leroy (Ewan Matthys-Wood), Claude (Matthew Lamb), Ollie (Essek Moore), Gladys (Kynlee Heiman) and Imogene (Beatrice Schneider) – create havoc in the town of Emmanuel. When the local Christmas pageant needs a replacement leader due to injury, Grace Bradley (Judy Greer) takes over the gig.

After the Herdman hooliganss come to the church to snag snacks, they learn about the holiday production. Imogene decides the Herdmans should participate, with the predictable fallout.

“Predictable” in a variety of ways. This means we find the anticipated slapstick shenanigans along with a religious bent that we anticipate from this flick’s creators.

Best comes from the same folks who made Christian-oriented movies such as 2021’s American Underdog and 2024’s Ordinary Angels. Most of their works come with clear religious overtones but they don’t tend to beat audiences over the head with those themes, a factor that makes them more appealing to a secular audience.

At its core, Best seems most reminiscent of 2014’s Moms’ Night Out. That one actually leaned much less religious than its peers, as it basically delivered a watered-down comedy in the Bridesmaids.

Of course, that one went for a pretty raunchy “R”-rated affair, whereas Night delivered a “safe for families” “PG”. It also pretty much stunk, at least partly because the topic matter of women out for a wild evening doesn’t really work when toned down for “PG”.

Given the focus on kids, this becomes less of an issue for the also-“PG” Best. Much of the flick seems reminiscent of 1983’s classic A Christmas Story.

Both come told from the adult perspective of the lead character. Both also offer a look back at youthful Christmas experiences.

Both also adopt a certain form of nostalgia that influences the depiction of events, though Best seems notably softer than Story. Not that the latter brought anything dark or objectionable, but it came with a certain level of cynicism and bite absent from Best.

That becomes an issue here, especially in the way it relates to the Herdman kids. We need to see them as utterly reprehensible and incorrigible.

That doesn’t happen. While the film tries to paint the Herdmans as brutal and terrible, they just seem vaguely bratty and not much of a real threat to their peers.

This becomes a contrast with Story’s Scut Farkis. A truly unpleasant bully, viewers get a visceral sense of how poor Ralphie feels tormented by his foe.

None of the Herdman children seem genuinely awful. We get a vibe that they’re a bit feral and not well-socialized but they fail to convey the completely out of control vibe they need to make that side of the movie work.

Some might argue that the fact we get the story distorted through the memories of an adult who remembers her youth allows the Herdmans to seem less ominous. I disagree and think this POV should make the narrator remember the Herdmans as even more disruptive and intimidating than they were.

Christmas Story pulled this off, as adult Ralphy’s memories made his childhood look scarier than it actually was. That movie also showed that a comedy can be completely inoffensive but still show some kick and cynicism.

This leaves the Herdmans as oddly neutered roles in a movie that requires them to provide menace. Best seems similarly tamed in ways that don’t allow it to live up to its comedic potential.

Most of the humor here comes back to the supposed wildness of the Herdmans. Since they feel less than terrifying, a lot of possible laughs fall by the wayside.

Look, I get that Best aims for a family audience and that means a certain softness. Still, a movie about out of control kids just doesn’t succeed when the viewers don’t view those children as especially awful.

I don’t think the movie’s utter lack of edginess dooms it, as Best remains a moderately pleasant affair. As usual, I appreciate that it maintains a Christian orientation without a preachy tones, and that becomes a neat trick given so much of it involves the Nativity story.

Nothing about Best actively turns me off as a viewer. It musters 99 minutes of gentle comedy that does nothing to alienate the audience.

Best also fails to find anything memorable or clever or especially witty. Expect a painless family film without the bite it needs to fulfill its potential.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became an appealing presentation.

Overall sharpness seemed solid. No issues cropped up there so the flick looked accurate and detailed.

No issues with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and I noticed no edge haloes. Source flaws were absent, as the movie seemed consistently clean.

Best gave us a palette that emphasized a lot of amber/orange, with some teal as well. Within those parameters, the hues felt positive.

Blacks seemed deep and dark, while shadows showed good smoothness and clarity. I felt happy with the transfer.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the Dolby Atmos soundtrack of Best lacked much to stand out as memorable. I expected that, though, since I wouldn’t anticipate a wild experience from this sort of character drama.

The soundfield focused on the front spectrum, and music presented the most prominent element. The score showed good stereo imaging, and we got general ambience much of the time.

When the surrounds played a part, they usually added environmental reinforcement. Outside of a few slapstick scenes, matters stayed subdued.

Audio quality was fine. Speech sounded distinctive and natural, without edginess or other issues.

Effects didn’t have much to do, but they were acceptable for what they offered. Music appeared full and rich. There wasn’t enough here to merit a grade above a “B“, though, so don’t expect a memorable soundtrack.

As we shift to extras, we find an audio commentary from director Dallas Jenkins and producer Kevin Downes. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific look at the source and its adaptation, cast and performances, story and characters, sets and locations, photography, music, various effects and related elements.

With Downes there mainly as cheery sidekick, Jenkins dominates the track and helps make it… fine. While we get a decent look at the production, I don’t think the discussion ever becomes better than pretty good, as it lacks anything to make it special.

A collection of bloopers goes for seven minutes, three seconds and provides the usual goofs and giggles. A few improv lines add some value but most of this feels ordinary.

Eight Deleted Scenes occupy a total of seven minutes, 32 seconds. These provide minor clips and some extended sequences, none of which seem especially significant.

In addition to the movie’s trailer, we get five featurettes, Herding the Kids goes for five minutes, 34 seconds and offers notes from Jenkins, executive producer Jennifer Booth, and actors Judy Greer, Beatrice Schneider, Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez, Molly Belle Wright, Mason Nelligan, Lorelei Olivia Mote, Ewan Matthys Wood, Matthew Lamb, Kynlee Heiman and Essek Moore.

The show looks at casting and the challenges of a film with so many child actors. We get a handful of decent notes but most of “Kids” just tells us how much fun everyone had.

Director’s Diary lasts seven minutes, 49 seconds and it features Jenkins during the shoot. Some of the behind the scenes footage seems mildly interesting but Jenkins’ remarks lean toward fluff.

With All About the Pageantry, we get a six-minute, one-second reel. It involves Jenkins, Greer, production designer Jean A. Carriere, costume designer Maria Livingstone, location manager Neal Baksh and actor Pete Holmes.

We learn about the movie’s sets, locations, visual design and costumes. “About” mixes useful thoughts and happy talk, though it fares better than its predecessors.

Legacy of the Christmas Pageant spans six minutes, 39 seconds. This one brings material from Jenkins, Greer, Schneider, Heiman, Wood, Wright, Lamb, Billingsley-Rodriguez, Downes, Nelligan, Holmes, Carriere, co-producer Katelyn Botsch, producer Daryl Lefever and actor Vanessa Benavente and Elizabeth Tabish.

Here we find thoughts related to the participants’ memories of their Christmas production experiences. It winds up as puffy as it sounds.

Finally, The Least of These runs six minutes, 58 seconds. It comes with remarks from Jenkins, Greer, Holmes, Botsch, Schneider, Lefever, Wright, Downes, Billingsley-Rodriguez, Nelligan, and Heiman.

“These” offers a discussion of the film’s message and how much everyone loved making it. It seems superficial.

A second disc provides a DVD copy of the movie. It boasts the same extras as the Blu-ray.

As a mix of comedy, religion and nostalgic sentiment, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever proves watchable but not better than that. I appreciate that it doesn’t batter us with its message but it tends to feel too cautious to really hit the mark. The Blu-ray comes with excellent visuals, good audio and a decent but erratic set of supplements. Pageant fares better than most “faith-based” entertainment but it also suffers from the lack of bite typical of that genre.