How ironic that Extras’ Ashley Jensen is appearing in a film that might have been delivered by the folks behind When the Whistle Blows, Ricky Gervais’ teatime comedy parody of The Office. This English improvised comedy from the director of the similarly inclined Confetti is a much thinner gruel than its already lightweight premise suggests; Martin Freeman once nursed dreams of thespian superstardom but years of teaching at a low rent Catholic primary school have reduced him to a grumbling, cynical wreck. He pines for ex-girlfriend Ashley Jensen who long ago left him to pursue a Hollywood career, a longing that produces far more flashbacks than any romantic subplot has the right to.
Our hero’s plight steadily worsens; this Christmas he has to produce the school Nativity play and a misheard conversation leads the local townsfolk to believe that Hollywood scouts will be present for the occasion. Can he possibly outshine his old adversary (Jason Watkins) from the super posh school down the road under such strenuous circumstances?
Improv is only as good as the people onboard and while Nativity! features plenty of old TV reliables, there’s nothing like the clout found in Ms. Isitt’s only passably funny Confetti. Most of the comedy here is of the zany variety: Marc Wootton’s oafish classroom assistant bumbles furiously and Don’t Kids Say the Funniest Things?
It does not help that structurally, the film is a mess; the Hollywood narrative is woeful, the musical montages come thick and fast, the actual Nativity play seems as long as Ben Hur.
Ms. Isitt has the right idea, of course. Britain is ripe for a Christopher Guest style troop to have a pop at surburban foibles, but on this occasion things haven’t quite come together. There is nothing about Nativity! that belongs in a cinema or indeed outside the era of Terry and June. Better luck next time.