Anxious teacher, Mr Donald Peterson, starts a new job at an under-achieving school and quickly finds himself struggling to cope with a wild classroom assistant, a group of under-performing kids and his own very pregnant wife. Things only take a turn for the worse when the assistant, Mr Poppy, enters them in the National 'Song for Christmas' Competition against the wishes of the headmistress and Mr Peterson. However, Mr Poppy decides to go anyway, alongside the majority of the class, whilst also kidnapping Mr Peterson, who comes to face his fears on the treacherous road trip. Following the incredible Nativity! (2009), we follow Mr Poppy's misadventures with the same class of talented children, now joined by some new students as well as a new teacher. Mr Maddens has unfortunately left as he went with his girlfriend Jennifer back to Hollywood. It at least gives them a happy ending but it was certainly a shame not to see him again, as he was one of the film's strongest points. Thankfully, we are graced with the phenomenal performance of David Tennant as teacher, Mr Peterson. He is probably best known for his role as the most iconic Doctor in Doctor Who: The Revival Era (TV Series 2005-2017), which is where I was first introduced to his brilliance and was so delighted to see him in this wacky adventure. This film, whilst nowhere near as good as the first, is still a fantastic bit of entertainment. It's one I continue to enjoy watching to this day, especially with my sister as a part of our tradition. With any good sequel, it is usually expected to up the stakes of the previous title and we certainly got just that with this perilous journey. With Mr Maddens gone, the headmistress, Mrs Bevan, searches high and low for a replacement teacher to fill the gap, but with Mr Poppy recking havoc with the students, no one stays long enough. Finally, however, Mrs Bevan convinces Mr Peterson to stay to help herald in a new age for the school by bringing discipline to the class. Mr Peterson was an instant highlight due to his relatability throughout the story in varying ways. You really feel for the guy as we are told of his troubled upbringing of a strict Dad who favours his brother and is under the stress of his first baby on the way. It is hysterical watching him get mad, shout, panic and scream at all the wrong goings of the trip, but you can still empathise with him. This is definitely the case in scenes like using the boats down a river where Mr Peterson falls in and gets irate. It is a hilarious sequence that only later gets a bit more meaning as we hear stories about his father throwing him in the deep end when going swimming and how it terrified him, unlike his brother. Mr Poppy continues to be his usual bizarre self and keeps up his streak of idiocy as he strands the group in the middle of nowhere. His antics know no end as he abducts a donkey, throws a baby in the air and essentially abuses Mr Peterson. The students continue to be their delightful selves with many returning from the previous film with some new notable additions who steal scenes with their cute and amusing ways. Also returning is rival teacher, Mr Shakespeare, and despite not having as prominent of a role, he throws himself into every scene giving his usual magnificent performance during some comical moments. However, taking the head of rival in this picture is Rodrick Peterson, Donald's twin brother (played by Tennant as well), who conducts a choir and goes to great lengths to win the contest, including cheating. One of the best aspects of this film was seeing Tennant play against himself delivering some truly emotional scenes, which in itself is pretty funny. The contest itself is surprisingly dull. Not a single one of the songs is enjoyable and was quite honestly cringe and downright awful. Some songs outright bash the entire meaning of Christmas in a Christmas song competition, which is simply stupid. Naturally, St Bernadette's songs were superb and extremely catchy, therefore winning the contest. Overall, Nativity 2 is an entertaining follow-up that even though isn't as good as the first, offers that laid-back amusement perfect for the whole family this Christmas. Also, check out the next instalment in Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey? (2014).
This Christmas, primary school teacher Paul Maddens is charged with producing the school's nativity play. Competing against the posh rival school for the honour of the best-reviewed show in town, the stakes are raised when Paul idly boasts that his ex-girlfriend Jennifer, a Hollywood Producer, is coming to see his show to turn it into a film. The only trouble is, they haven't spoken in years. With eccentric assistant Mr Poppy fuelling his 'little white lie', Maddens suddenly finds himself a local celebrity and at the centre of quarrelling parents and over-excited children caught up in fame and fortune. Maddens' only hope is to get back in touch with Jennifer and lure Hollywood to town so that everybody's Christmas wishes come true. This British Christmas flick has always had a special place in my heart. I can recall watching it year in, year out, every Christmas time without fail, as it would become a tradition with my sister. This year was no exception as it continues to hold up, delivering a hilarious, light-hearted family fun caper set during the festive season. My favourite aspect of this film was the character of Paul Maddens, played by Martin Freeman, who spends the majority of the film having near panic attacks under the constant worsening of his 'small' lie. I found myself spending most of the film chuckling at his performance. I particularly loved his bewildered looks at the children's bizarre auditions to his furious expressions at Mr Poppy's childish and peculiar behaviour that constantly favours him with the students. His outbursts, however, are fantastic and my favoured scenes. They are almost always brought on by Mr Poppy, played by Marc Wootton who constantly pushes for unrealistic expectations for the nativity like, for example, using a 'death slide'. The two characters are instant highlights as their contrasting characteristics play off of one another perfectly, creating some of the most stupendous laughs and an unlikely friendship as the movie progresses. Mr Poppy is certainly an idiot but one of the more enjoyable kinds as his far-stretched ideas are so fun and quite simply ridiculous. Some of his antics include taking children on a school trip to see a woman giving birth to see how Jesus was born and stealing farm animals to be used in their show. He is bonkers yet hysterical. He is a big help with setting up the Nativity by making Mr Madden's songs more enjoyable for the students and a lot more upbeat. The songs have to be another favourite part of mine as they are extremely catchy. The lyrics are very well-written and equally clever. They are of course made to be cool and, in some of the songs, modern-like for the kids, but even then, they are funny and entertaining, not at all cringe-worthy. I adore the song 'She's the Brightest Star' it's too good and I cannot get enough of its groovy energy. The rest of the other songs are also notable being, 'Sparkle & Shine', 'Nazareth', 'Good News', 'One Look' and 'One Night, One Moment'. What I was most worried about with this 'modernised' take with singing and jokes there would be less focus on the significance of the Nativity story, however, they pay full respect to it in a beautiful way, especially when depicting Jesus' birth. The actual stars of the flick are naturally the students of the school St Bernadette's who are not in the least bit annoying. I thought they were very tolerable and equally delightful. Standing out above all else in this feature, nevertheless, is the rival posh school teacher and old friend to Mr Maddens, Gordon Shakespeare. He steals the show and every scene he is in with his over-the-top performance. He really gets into it and makes for an amusing 'bad guy' who tries to outdo Madden's show with the horrifying King Herod-themed play and expose him as a liar about Hollywood coming. It is interesting to note that this film was essentially improvised. There was no script to follow just plans for the scenes and the actors would act it out, which is crazy but surprisingly turned out phenomenally. Overall, Nativity! is a fabulous comedy for the whole family to enjoy this Christmas, with plenty of catchy songs, amusing characters and moments to laugh at. Also, check out the follow-up Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger! (2012).
