Easter Sunday
review by Bobby Blakey
Comedian Joy Koy has been tearing up the comedy stage for years, but up until now has just barely entered the water as an actor. After a variety of roles he is taking on the lead in his latest film Easter Sunday co-starring Jimmy O. Yang, Tia Carrere, Brandon Wardell, Tony nominee Eva Noblezada, Lydia Gaston, Asif Ali, Rodney To, Eugene Cordero, Tiffany Haddish and Jay Chandrasekhar who also directs. Can Koy bring the laughs or will it be a family dinner not worth attending?
Easter Sunday follows a man returning home for an Easter celebration with his riotous, bickering, eating, drinking, laughing, loving family, in this love letter to his Filipino-American community.
As a fan of Koy I was looking forward to not only seeing him take on a lead in a film, but also seeing some of these crazy family stories he tells come to life. The first act of the film had me concerned as it kind of limps along and feels forced at times. It almost feels like it is just trying to find its footing, but really seems to be the case is that it just needed the rest of the family and their chaos to get things going.
Once it gets to the meat of it all it get to be a ton of fun. Sure its predicable and follows the typical formula of this type of family comedy, but it still brings the heart and laughs. The story shifts from straight up family comedy to chaos of crime and survival as Koy and Cordero are great together as they navigate the city trying to stay alive and make the money they need to solve their issue.
Chandreasekhar takes on the smaller role of Koy’s agent with some funny
moments including a running gag used to get off the phone. The rest of the cast are all in and fully capture the essence of those stand-up stories Koy has been using to entertain for years while making them their own. It’s not a big stretch of Koy this time around as he is essentially plying a version of himself, but it’s a good step into a bigger direction of his career. I look forward to seeing him taking the lead more often in comedies down the road and hope this film gets the audience it deserves.
The film is predictable and we all know where it’s going to the end, but filled with fun, laughs, family heart, and a cool cameo, Easter Sunday is worth checking out for a good laugh.
Check out Easter Sunday available now on digital, Blu-ray from Universal Home Entertainment.