Easter Sunday Reviews

Director Jay Chandrasekhar (Super Troopers) takes a screenplay by Kate Angelo (Sex Tape) and Ken Cheng (Betas) and presents Easter Sunday. The film is probably intended to be the breakout role for comedian Jo Koy as well as portraying Filipinos in a positive light, but it falls flat early and never manages to get back on its feet. Joe Valencia (Jo Koy) is an actor with one major television commercial credit to his name. Because of this, everyone associates him with this one character, making it difficult for him to get other roles. He hopes to break that mold with a shot at a television show. The only problems are the show wants constant callbacks, his son is doing poorly in school, his cousin has invested Joe's money in a shady business, and worst of all, his mother expects him home for Easter. Now Joe has to juggle all these issues and keep the family from killing each other before dinner; his sanity and his career depend on it.The film is entertaining but feels more like a series of casted stand-up routines than a cohesive story. Most of the characters are two-dimensional and don't get much development regardless of how much screen time they may have. This includes Koy's Joe Valencia. The problem seems to be that no thought was given to fleshing out a series of one-liner jokes in a manner that holds the audience's attention. The few scenes with some meat added, including a memorable chase scene, demonstrate that the script could have been much better with a little more work. As an opportunity to shed some light on the woefully underrepresented positive Filipino community, the movie walks too far across the line into farce. Nearly every character is a stereotype, as though filled from a checklist. Those familiar with Filipino families may get a few chuckles early but will likely be cringing by the end. Unfortunately, this keeps nearly all of the performers from standing out. The exception is Eva Noblezada as Ruth, whose natural performance is refreshing and entertaining.One aspect of the movie that is solid are the settings. There is a natural feel of the Filipino-American community that is a part of Daly City, California. Businesses, parks, shops, and malls keep the film in place. The few action scenes have good cinematography, which makes them easy to follow, too. Easter Sunday is mildly entertaining, though the Filipino community might find it mildly insulting - or mildly accurate in some cases. Turning reality into comedy isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in the case of this film, the writers went overboard, so it isn't as much a holiday treat as a lost egg.