A Tale of Two Movies

It’s not often that I go to the movies, and never have I gone to two in a four-day period. Rarely is there anything playing worth the price of a ticket—until last week.

Before I go on, let me give you a little background. My daughter Nikki was born two days before Thanksgiving. In fact, she and I spent her very first Thanksgiving in the hospital, and neither one of us were allowed to eat turkey and mashed potatoes.

When Nikki was three, she had an annoying baby brother who tended to steal a little of her attention. And that’s when the traditional holiday movie night was born. She and I would go to whatever new movie was out for Christmas. In 1989 it was The Little Mermaid.

When Ariel told her father at the end, “I love you, Daddy,” I teared up and Nikki asked if she could have another box of candy.

As the years passed, Nikki became more engaged in the storie, and her choices shifted from Disney musicals to Broadway musicals. I blame my mom for that. She had most every musical soundtrack on record—literally. My Fair Lady, Oklahoma, Sound of Music, The Music Man, Hello Dolly to name just a few.

I didn’t get whatever gene exists that draws someone to Broadway musicals—it skipped a generation.

When Nikki was about fourteen, she was ahead of the trend and decided actual records were cool again. Of course, Mom offered up her entire collection to her granddaughter, and a love for musicals was born.

That’s not to say I don’t like musicals. I do. I’m just not quite as obsessed with them as Nikki. And there are some I merely tolerated for my daughter’s birthday celebration—like Cats. While Jennifer Hudson was singing “Memories” with snot running from her nose, Nikki was crying along with the character, and I was rolling my eyes.

This year’s choice, however, wasn’t a strain on my delicate senses. Wicked. First off, Chris took me to see it on stage years ago at the Orpheum in San Francisco (when we could still walk from the theater to our hotel without fear of violence). It was a surprise birthday outing.

It turned out he was more surprised than me when I spotted the banner on the side of the theater and said, “You brought me to a musical?” He looked at me with borderline horror in his eyes. “It’s a musical?” A patient of his recommended it without revealing this little detail. But Chris enjoyed it, and even sat through it again a couple years later when we went with Nikki and her husband in Nebraska.

If you enjoy The Wizard of Oz and you like musicals, you will want to see Wicked. I’m so uncool, I didn’t have a clue who Ariana Grande was (cast as Glinda in the movie). However, her voice is stunning, and she has impeccable comedic timing.

There was, of course, music—lots of music—dancing, and comedy amidst amazing settings. Eye candy for those of you who soak up this sort of thing. Definitely worth the $8.00 ticket price. They get you with the popcorn and soda, which is why having lunch at Rock & Roll Sushi first was a plus.

So, obviously, I enjoyed Wicked. But the movie I really wanted to see was The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, directed by Dallas Jenkins of The Chosen. Once Chris saw the trailer, it didn’t take much to convince him to set aside his agenda on a Tuesday afternoon for this matinee.

It boasts a wonderful cast of characters including Judy Greer (who I remember best in 13 Going on 30) and Kirk B.R. Woller (Gaius in The Chosen).

But it was the children in this movie who really made it sing. Unknown actors to me who did an amazing job tugging on my heartstrings. Molly Belle Wright as Beth Bradley narrates the story as an adult played by Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls and Parenthood).

If you’re going to see this movie, have a couple of tissues handy.

I love how the Christmas story was brought to life through the eyes of one poor, insecure, bully-of-a-girl and her gang of delinquent siblings (the Herdman kids). Beautifully done. This is one I would like to add to my home collection so I can watch it every year. And my husband is in total agreement. I believe I saw a tear or two in his eyes as well.

The movie was based off the book of the same title published in 1972 by Barbara Robinson. It’s followed by two other books focused on the Herdman children—The Best School Year Ever and The Best Halloween Ever.

There was a moment when I was perusing the movie titles at our theater that I hesitated. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Assassin is also playing. I would love to see this movie, too, but holiday joy took a front seat to this film, especially since I just finished reading Lilac Girls, which I reviewed last week.

There is only so much darkness my soul can take right now. Instead, I’ll stream it when it becomes available.

If you’ve seen any of these movies, I’ll love to know what you thought.

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