Nativity Review

By G. Castilla

Nativity! is a fun, festive comedy. The perfect movie to get you into the Christmas spirit; full of laughter and joy. It is a tradition in my family to watch this movie every single December, on the day we decorate the Christmas tree and our house with lights and various objects. It was released in 2009 and since then has been watched by my brother, my sisters and me.  
It presents the story of Mr. Maddens, a primary school teacher, with a background in drama; he is selected by the school head to direct the Nativity play that year. His rival ex friend, Gordon Shakespeare, always throws the best play in Coventry, England. They go head to head trying to pull of the best play, when they meet, whilst Christmas tree shopping. Mr. Maddens lies and tells Gordon that Hollywood staff is coming make a movie and book out of his nativity play. His silly and clumsy new assistant, Mr. Poppy, overhears and decides to tell the good news to everyone. This starts a huge snowball of lies, which keeps getting bigger and fatter, resulting in a fantastic and hilarious play at the end.   
The movie has countless songs, with funny and humorous lyrics. Specially in the final scenes, which in my opinion are the best. Songs like "Sparkle and Shine", “Nazareth", "Good news", "One look", "One Night, One Moment" and "She’s the Brightest Star”. With lyrics like “she's not my type”, “this is no one night stand” and "I wanna squeeze her, tease her, share a slice of pizza! Extra spicy!” makes the movie even better by adding an extra sweet touch to it. 
The kids are British primary school children, with their childish cute, however still on tune voice. They are great actors, teaching you to have compassion for characters such as Mr. Maddens, even if he is quite grumpy, you root for him, Jennifer, his connection to Hollywood and ex girlfriend. There is one child in particular, Bob, who is the sweetest and idiosyncratically funny in his own weird way. He is the only one who never wears uniform, opting for something less school proper and more out in the street, gangster way. Furthermore, the girl who sings the introduction solo part of the last song “One Night, One Moment”, has a beautiful voice, which captures the listener in the moment, being sweet and comforting.  
This movie is a captivating one, full of joy, songs, charm, wistfulness and humor. It is a festive comedy with romance as a side genre. I really recommend it, even though I am quite biased as this is my favorite holiday film. Not even “Elf” makes me feel in a better Christmas spirit than this particular one, it really sets me in a Christmas mood. 
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