Christmas movies are some of the best in Hollywood. They bring the myriad of feelings people have towards the season (e.g., anxiety, joy, ambivalence) to the big screen in a wide variety of ways. Whether it’s Will Ferrell being a giant elf or miracles occurring on 34th street, Christmas just seems to bring out the best in filmmakers. You’d think, with a talented cast at disposal, that Black Nativity would join the pantheon of great holiday cinema, but alas, it’ll have to do with the designation of being the worst Christmas film since The Polar Express.

Langston (Jacob Latimore) is a selfish teen, who is also one of the most unlikable protagonists in cinema history, with his first major act depicting him berating his mother for not being able to keep their mortgage up while simultaneously committing acts of vandalism. When his mom sends him to her rich and estranged parents, it’ll be anything but a silent night as he adjusts to his snobby elders, who live and breathe by their Christian values.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Black Nativity before I saw it, but after seeing it, I’m not even sure if the filmmakers had any idea what kind of movie they were actually making. At first, it seems to be a musical, a smart choice considering the likes of Jennifer Hudson are in the cast. In the first 15 minutes, we get some repetitive but decent songs, and then we never hear any more big musical numbers, aside from one that has a homeless couple (who appear on and off throughout the film) belting out “Silent Night” and an over the top dream sequence. This kind of inconsistency runs rampant throughout the script, with characters never being fully clear on their motives (whether or not Langston actually likes his mom is a big one).

This film gets even more schmaltzy and bizarre in the second act. For instance, you have not witnessed great acting until you see Forest Whitaker say the immortal phrase “As for me and my house…” like he’s spitting out each syllable. And of course there’s a plot twist late in the game that’s supposed to make audience members weep with sorrow, but instead made me almost burst out laughing at its ridiculousness. And as for a dream sequence recreating Mary and Joseph’s trek into Bethlehem in modern times (complete with all the terrible rap music The Bible was missing!), well, the less said about that monstrosity of a scene the better.

We re-watch those beloved Christmas specials and films every year because they bring out such great feelings in us as human beings and because they epitomize the wonders and euphoria this time of year brings. Thankfully, you can now feel the ultimate joy of the season by laughing at how horrendous Black Nativity is. Every single aspect of this production just feels laughably miscalculated, from a Christianity message that’s the farthest thing from subtle, to a lead character you want to punch instead of root for, and some of the year’s worst dialogue (“I was a father, but I was also a boy” is one of the scripts many “gems”). This is just an almost fantastic level of terrible. Hark, this film critic sings, glory to the newborn dud that is Black Nativity.