Movie Review: First Sunday

If one is to judge a book by its cover, or a movie by its trailer, First Sunday is not a good movie. To judge this movie based on the promotional material, one would expect a sophomoric comedy that does nothing other than reinforce stereotypes and revisit the same tired jokes. To a degree that is true, but there is more to it than that. The characters are given surprising amounts of depth, and the themes of family and redemption are woven nicely into the comedic fabric that makes up this surprisingly entertaining January offering. No, it is not the best of its kind, but it succeeds at being more than one would expect and sometimes that is enough.

Durell (Ice Cube) and LeeJohn (Tracy Morgan) are lifelong friends and hard luck criminals. As the story begins the two are in some desperate need for money. Durell is in danger of losing his son, as he is behind on his child support in the vicinity of $17,000, while LeeJohn is just flat broke. Their journey of self-discovery is kicked into high gear when LeeJohn makes a deal with some unsavory Jamaicans (who are simultaneously hilarious and frightening). Needless to say the deal goes bad and the two find themselves back in front of a judge (Keith David) who is clearly tired of having these guys in his courtroom. So, instead of putting them behind bars, the judge sees potential in these two, despite all that he has seen, and sentences them to community service.

Now, Durell and LeeJohn are behind the eight ball in terms of their overriding need for money. This leads to another LeeJohn idea, rob a church that has been doing fundraising to build a new church. The night comes to do the deed and they are surprised to find a meeting going on and the money missing. What follows is a hostage situation and a lot of self discovery.

The plot is simple, this is not really about the story so much as it is about the characters and developing them beyond the stereotypes. I found it interesting that there were no actual villains in the traditional sense. Sure, our lead characters are committing a villainous act, but they are expected to change by the end so they don't really count. Then there is Durell's ex whom you would expect to be towards the mean side, and it is true that she is not initially very nice, but she is revealed to be someone looking out for her future and her son's future and is quite logical.

The characters develop nicely. Ice Cube has become a charismatic screen presence over the years and this film is no different. He plays the straight man trying his best to provide for his son and be a proper role model. Then there is Tracy Morgan getting his first shot at starring in a film. He is funny, his delivery is quite unique and he delivers some big laughs. On top of that, his character is more than the sidekick he appears to be early on. However, stealing the show is Katt Williams, who was one of the only good things from last year's Norbit. I have never seen his stand-up, but his movie presence is eye opening. He steals many of the scenes he appears in here.

Now, it is not all good. It is a broad comedy robbing it of some of its subtlety, plus some of the jokes do fall flat. Some of those jokes I just did not like at all, including the bit with Rickey Smiley as an old lady. That scene just did not work at all and would have been better served on the editing room floor. Another malfunctioning scene was the one with Mordecai, it had its moment but ultimately overstayed its welcome. Still, it is successful more often than its not and is definitely worth giving a shot. On the dramatic side of the coin, Chi McBride and Loretta Devine are there to do the heavy lifting. Their presence is always a pleasure.

Bottomline. I did not expect much from this film. I came away having seen something that delivered a lot more than I could have hoped. No, it's not great, but definitely watchable and very funny in moments.

Mildly Recommended.