Nativity!
Martin Freeman in Debbie Isitt's Nativity!
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By Darren Estwick. |  |
Friday, 27, Nov 2009 11:33
Directed by Debbie Isitt, out November 27th in cinemas, starring Martin Freeman, Ashley Jensen, Jason Watkins, Marc Wootton, Pam Ferris, running time 106 mins.
What's it all about?
Having given up a career as an underachieving actor, Mr Maddens (Freeman) takes up his fallback job as a primary school teacher at the notoriously hopeless St Bernadette's state school. But after having received a biting review of his directorial debut in the school's nativity play and been dumped by his girlfriend (Jensen) on Christmas Eve, Maddens' holiday spirit is diminished into one that resembles something of Scrooge. So when St Bernadette's headmistress (Ferris) proposes that Maddens takes up his director's hat once more for the last nativity before her retirement, his initial response is of trepidation.
But when he bumps into his old-time drama buddy and long-time rival Gordon Shakespeare (Watkins), who is now also a primary school teacher, but at the posh Oakmoor private school up the road, his resentment gets the better of him and a small fib about his play being filmed for TV quickly spirals out of control and turns into a tangled mess concerning Hollywood, agents and the rights for a book. His only hope is to find a way to transform his lies into reality so as to avoid being arrested for fraud and, most importantly, disappointing his class.
What the others say
"Funny, sweet and family-friendly seasonal fare." - Angie Errigo, Empire
"Here is a list of things that sprang to mind while watching Debbie Isitt's festive putting-on-a-show ordeal... film posters that depict a man shrugging while surrounded by screaming children (cf Daddy Day Care, Cheaper by the Dozen and any other crèche-com you can think of); The Vicar of Dibley; garden fêtes; seasonal Asda adverts; Michael Barrymore's My Kind of People; a slow week on X Factor... a large-scale cloning experiment involving the kid from Jerry Maguire; films for people who don't like films..." - David Jenkins, Time Out
So is it any good?
Christmas comes but once a year and it is just the season for a family film filled with lies, deceit and heartbreak. Three years after her mild success with Confetti, British-born director Debbie Isitt introduces another comedic tale using her signature improv style starring old pals Martin Freeman, Jason Watkins and Marc Wootton, but this time with Extras star Ashley Jensen and comedian Alan Carr, not to mention a classroom of kids.
Although Nativity! is refreshingly absent of over-the-top Christmas slapstick and delivers some truly hilarious moments (specifically from Watkins), Isitt's hit-and-miss improv is demonstrated with the back-and-forth teetering between funny and not. Take Mr Poppy (Wootton), Mr Maddens' new teaching assistant hired to help with the production of the play. While his unruly, yet innocent, schoolboy antics are initially amusing, there are moments when they go from comical to downright odd. Nevertheless, the true stars of the film are the St Bernadette's schoolchildren, most of who are ordinary kids with little or no previous onscreen experience. As the film progresses, the nativity production takes shape and culminates in a heart-warming show, centring on the true meaning of Christmas rather than its commerciality. While there are some peculiar moments of comedic oddities, the film succeeds in delivering that fuzzy feeling this Yuletide.
6/10
Louise Robina Happé
This review is provided by screenjabber.com