Ed's Review Dot Com

Media Pro Six, Mirrorball Films, Moviehouse Entertainment,

David Tennant, Marc Wootton, Jason Watkins, Pam Ferris, Jessica Hynes, Ian McNeice, Joanna Page

The Nativity! clan are back, and St. Bernadette’s has a new teacher, Donald (David Tennant) taking over Paul’s classroom after the near disaster last year. But when word of a big contest coming up with any school allowed to enter, the class wants to do another Nativity concert this year. It’s being held in a big castle far away, and the school can’t afford the journey, but Mr. Poppy (Marc Wootton) naturally convinces Donald that they have to go and they set out on a long road trip to get there. But things don’t go so well as they end up finding an infant as a stowaway, and they end up with a donkey that Mr. Poppy insists is a magic donkey who is perfect to guide them and the baby to the Nativity. Surely it’s a sign. But they risk their lives and limbs, are still late getting there and are disqualified. Not only that, but everyone is out looking for them, and nobody is very happy about them sneaking off to try to complete.

This worthy sequel to the original Nativity! is possibly better than the original. Certainly there’s a lot more action and adventure, and the road trip is a major undertaking. The performance is certainly better and after arriving at the contest you would expect the story to end, but there’s still lots more to go. More action and adventure is not the only improvements. Marc Wootton has a better feel for the Mr. Poppy character and is, in my opinion, even funnier than he was in the first one. The addition of David Tennant was also quite good. He does a terrific job trying to deal with Mr. Poppy’s madness. The performances are excellent, and the show is a lot better than the first one. But it has all the humor that made the original special. Again, the heavy English humour may be off putting for some, but I enjoyed it very much. I have3 heard of a 3rd movie coming out this year, Nativity 3: Dude, where’s my Donkey? This means that they’re keeping the donkey from this film, and bringing back Mr. Poppy and the kids of St. Bernadette’s. But there is a new teacher once again, and hopefully it will be a pleasant as the others. It’s been theatrically released in the UK and Ireland this Christmas (2014) but we’ll probably have to wait for it till next year in the US. But in the meantime, catch the other two, and see if you agree that 2 is even better than the original. Note, Like Nativity! this film is airing Christmas 2014 on UPtv.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Mirrorball Films, BBC Films, Screen West Midlands,

Martin Freeman, Marc Wootton, Jason Watkins, Ashley Jensen, Pam Ferris, Alan Carr, Ricky Tomlinson, Rosie Cavaliero, John Sessions, Phyllis Logan

Paul (Martin Freeman) is an Elementary school teacher at St. Bernadette’s. He’s assigned to produce the school’s Nativity play for the holidays and sets out to do his best. But when he meets an old friend and brags that his “girlfriend” who actually is his ex-girlfriend, who has left for America to work for a large movie company, is bringing a big Hollywood movie crew to film the play and turn it into a big Hollywood blockbuster. Mr. Poppy, his classroom assistant who drives Paul nuts (Mr. Poppy is the Principal’s nephew) overhears the boast, he runs back to the school to spread the word, and when Paul returns he’s suddenly a big hero in the whole town and is unwilling to confess to all his admirers that it’s not going to happen.

This is a British comedy filled with the kind of humour English movies bring. The characters are well developed and quite funny. Paul has his share of detractors as well including Mr. Shakespeare who’s music director of the much more well to do school across the way, and a who’s always anxious to beat the ugly stepchild school St. Bernadette’s. Paul goes through some really silly attempts to make it all right again, and Mr. Poppy is always there ruining everything again. This pair are very good, and managed to make at least one sequel (coming tomorrow) and possible a scheduled 3rd one in 2014 that I haven’t heard about yet. All in all, if you love British humor with the hysterical characters like the Monty Python guys, Fawlty Towers, and Mr. Bean, this is a really funny film. This film screams Christmas in the Isles and will probably make the Brit’s feel homesick, but if you’re not a fan of that kind of humor it could be a little over the top in the humor department. I found it a likeable film, and well worth the time spent watching it. Hint: It’s playing on UPTV this year as well as available on DVD.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog