Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday

A man returns home for an Easter celebration with his riotous, bickering, eating, drinking, laughing, loving family, in this love letter to the Filipino-American community.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 120 minutes
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Stars: Jo Koy, Tia Carrere, Eugene Cordero, Brandon Wardell, Jimmy O. Yang, Tiffany Haddish, Lou Diamond Phillips, Asif Ali, Eva Noblezada, Michael Weaver, Dustin Ybarra, Gavin Matts
  • Director: Jay Chandrasekhar
 Comments
  • gmaileatsyourlunch - 3 August 2023
    Rushed, cynical misfire aims at low-hanging Filipino fruit.
    As not only a Filipino but a bay area native where Easter Sunday is set, this should have been right up my alley but ended up being a cringe-fest from start to finish. What's astonishing is Jo Koy had so much to work with because we Filipinos are definitely a quirky bunch, yet at nearly every turn he goes for the very cheapest of laughs and one-dimensional caricatures. Whether it's fighting sisters, the black sheep brother, everybody riding Koy's fame or the unofficial competition to cook the best dish at the family reunion - all of these setups are carried out in the cheapest, laziest, and above all else - cynical - ways possible.

    I'm not saying this with an agenda, either. I'm not knocking the film because it isn't a Filipino love-fest. It's fine to show Filipinos as they are, warts and all (in fact, that's what I wanted to see). A few people have claimed the movie is offensive toward Filipinos but I completely disagree. It's offensive to viewers in general with its inept laziness and its assuming that by taking the most worn out pile of gags and simply inserting Filipinos, it deserves laughs. Easter Sunday could (and should) have torn Filipinos to shreds to earn its laughs but it's far too dumb to even attempt scathing or honest self-deprecating humor. Despite this, it aims low and still misses by a mile.

    Astoundingly, the funniest moments are when anyone but Filipinos are on the screen. Jay Chandrasekarh plays Jo's agent, and his running gag of having to end his cell phone calls because he's "driving into a tunnel" is unoriginal but he executes it hilariously. Tiffany Hadish has a small part as a police officer who is an old flame of Jo's. The script gives her very little to work with but she makes the best of it and earns some laughs.

    Easter Sunday's biggest sin is its utter lack of humor and likable characters but the problems don't stop there. The pace is an exhausting mess. The plot has Jo up for a role that could be his next big break but demands he be at his agent's and producers' beck and call. But he has to balance career with family and then he runs afoul of some local gangsters. The hurriedness feels utterly manufactured and inauthentic, and the resulting caffeinated running around just wore me out.

    Then there's the ending. Nearly all the film is spent making most of Jo's family as unlikable as possible but of course, they can't leave it like that so we get an awkward scene where the family reconciles and the bad guys are thwarted. You can see it coming a mile away and in your mind you're wishing it would arrive sooner because it means the movie will finally end. I emphasize, Jo's family's unlikability has nothing to do with them being Filipino. They're awful characters born of awful writing who just so happen to be Filipino.

    Wow, what a bumbling, stumbling film this is. You won't get any insight into Filipino culture and nearly zero laughs along the way. It's a tired old plot, gags that don't work and a script that did a find/replace to insert Filipinos. Not recommended.
  • cori-17475 - 17 November 2022
    Dumb and Dumber
    There are no words to describe this boring awful nauseated movie.

    If you are easily offended, I urge you to skip this review. First of all, this is USA, we don't care about other countries or their cultures.

    I watched the movie because Jo koy is funny, at least I thought he was. This movie was incredibly bad, so, so bad that I no longer like Jo Koy. The acting was awful, and the story line was horrific. Also, If this is how the Filipinos behave, I am for sure going to stay far away from them. My God, they are loud and obnoxious. The only great thing about the movie is this: It will keep me far far away from the filipinos.