Michael's Movie Grade: B
A very charming musical version of the nativity story.
This may in many ways be a very simple retelling of the Christmas story but in many ways the charm is in that simplicity. This is because while it may be simple it does capture the heart and the warmth of the biblical story. It may take a few creative liberties, but it gets right down to the essence of what Christmas is all about. Whether you are a Christian or not this movie will simply put a smile on your face. Much of the warmth can be found in Mary and Joesph themselves. While Mary (as portrayed here) may in some ways resemble your typical Disney heroine, she is a character that we like from the time that we first see her (much of this is due to Fiona Palomo's warm and charming onscreen presence). Also even while adding more typical movie heroine traits, this movie always treats her with the utmost respect and shows why she was far from just any woman. The way Joseph is portrayed is simply perfect. This film takes a good look at the inner conflict he had. We truly see him battling within himself whether or not to believe Mary. This is something that I feel many film versions of the nativity story tend to overlook. However I feel that it is one of the most important parts to the story. The sheer amount of faith Joseph had to walk with to believe and trust that Mary was telling the truth. I simply love that this movie, honestly takes a look his step of faith (Mary even says to him, "I'm not the only one who was chosen for this."). This also adds a real emotional connection to a story that we all know how it ends.
I went into this film, expecting to not really enjoy the songs. Part of this comes from many modern musicals having songs that I didn't care for. Yet I was surprised that I actually ended up enjoy these songs quite a bit. They are quite catchy and pleasant to listen to. There are even times where the lyrics are quite clever. I even actually loved the song from Joseph's dream sequence.
The scenes with the Magi are mostly played for laughs and are often times very silly. While I have no problem with this concept, I felt they should have been funnier. There may be a few smiles in these scenes, but there are no real big laughs. Though most of these scenes I was feeling that I should have been laughing more than I was.
While this may not be the best film version of the Christmas story, it is a very charming film. There are even a few moments of greatness here.
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