Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Prismark10 Nativity! is a middling film which is partly improvised by the cast which is how writer/director Debbie Isitt works.Martin Freeman plays Paul Maddens a failed actor now an underachieving primary school teacher. His former girlfriend left him some years ago and made it big in Hollywood.Now Paul has been put in charge to direct the Nativity play and vies to outdo a rival school whose head teacher he knew at University and rather envies. Paul lies that Hollywood casting agent will come to see the Nativity play which escalates out of control thanks to the man-child classroom assistant Mr Poppy (Marc Wooton.)Paul ends up going to Hollywood to visit his ex (Ashley Jensen) and has to resort to get her to pull a few favours for him.In its favour Both Jensen and Freeman give a natural and charming performance which is more than the script (improvised or not) deserves. It is a silly plot and a film about the acting standards of a nativity play does not inspire me as someone who had to sit through a few as a father.Worse still Wooton's overacting as Mr Poppy had me wishing that a berserk driver would enter the film and run him over. Not sure how his character ever passed the criminal records checks in the first place.Still the film has become something of a regular Christmas film on television without the sickly syrup of the American Christmas films. The one-upmanship between the two school rivals keeps the story going.

Franklie POSSIBLE SPOILERS, NOTHING THAT WILL RUIN THE STORY THOUGH: We've seen this movie twice now and will most likely watch it again next year. We love the actors (who are THE very best part of the movie) and the locations and the lack of gungy language and that the children seemed like every day fabulous children and the reminder that people rise to the occasion when given the chance.We could have done without the raunchy dance moves. ") And we could have done without the skewed Mary and Joseph love story especially when acted out by children. Both were a bit cringe-worthy. So, you have to put aside respectful manners and history-according-to-the-Bible for a bit and just enjoy the rest which is loads of fun.Clarke Peters dancing at the end is the best. Wish I had a photo.

l_rawjalaurence Let's get the caveats out of the way: Debbie Isitt's screenplay does contain certain implausibilities - two children miss school and jet off to Los Angeles with their teacher Mr. Maddens (Martin Freeman); while Maddens himself, together with his teaching assistant Poppy (Marc Wootton) stage their Nativity Play in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral, complete with strobe lights, visual effects and lighting that is more characteristic of a Lloyd Webber musical than a school play. At one point the fuses blow; and the children continue to perform by candlelight. The sheer strength of the lighting suggests that they have also been given divine intervention so as to let the performance continue.Nonetheless, NATIVITY! is a really enjoyable piece of work; the kind of feel-good movie that makes you believe in human goodness, at least for a brief period. Freeman's Maddens is a carefully observed study in insecurity - a primary school teacher desperately trying to convince everyone that he has got over a lengthy love-affair with Jennifer Lore (Ashley Jensen(, but making a very poor job of it. His depression manifests itself in the way he treats his students - although fond of them, he finds it incredibly difficult to relate to them. This is where Poppy proves such a cathartic figure; through a combination of enthusiasm and sheer brute force he convinces Maddens to engage more fully in directing the play and to become more personally responsible for his students' welfare. There is one particularly moving sequence where Madden reads the letters written by his students to Santa Claus, and discovers that they know everything about his failed love- affair. Wiping the tears from his eyes, Madden exits stage left and resolves to produce as good a piece of work as he can.NATIVITY! contains its fair share of memorable cameos, from Alan Carr as a poison-pen critic with a fondness for eating during the performance, to Jason Watkins as a rival teacher in a private school determined to ensure that Maddens' production does not receive as favorable a critical opinion as his own. The message here is a simple one - in a class-ridden society such as Britain, it's not always the privileged children who prove most successful. Even those from less wealthy backgrounds, who have perhaps been dismissed as "useless" or incompetent, can be encouraged to produce something worthwhile, if only they are given the self-confidence to do so. The credits end with a dedication to "all inspirational teachers" in the audience, at whatever educational level. NATIVITY! proves what can be done if they are given the chance to inspire.

ExpendableMan There's a great idea for a film lurking in Nativity. A semi-improvised comedy built around the premise of two rival drama teachers going head- to-head during Christmas play season, there's an absolute wealth of potential to be had here. Plus it has Martin Freeman doing that perpetually exasperated thing with lots of familiar faces from the British comedy scene, some genuinely likable young kids and a charming, Richard Curtis-vibe underpinning it. What could possibly go wrong?Well, somehow the pieces just don't come together. It's lacking in laughs or memorable dialogue and is filled with scenes that don't just stretch credibility, but rip it to pieces like the family cat getting into the Christmas presents. Teachers encourage mass brawls between two primary school classes, sneak kids into the delivery room at a maternity hospital and even abduct two ten year olds and fly them to California with no repercussions from the parents at all. Well they did bring them back, so I guess it's all okay. There's a chance for a rousing finale with the final production as well but it outstays its welcome for too long. And that's without mentioning Mark Wootton's infuriating teaching assistant Mr. Poppy, a passive- aggressive man-child more juvenile than the ankle biters he's supposed to be looking after. By the time he's dangling a child from a Cathedral spire it all becomes clear, this is more "Surviving Christmas" than "It's A Wonderful Life." Just play trivial pursuit with your nan again.