Standup comic Jo Koy's debut movie, the family comedy Easter Sunday, aims to depict Filipino culture through the American immigrant experience.
He plays Joe Valencia, a struggling standup and single dad trying to break into Hollywood by auditioning for a supporting role in a sitcom.
His agent, played by the film's Indian director Jay Chandrasekhar (Super Troopers), insists that Joe use his Filipino accent to snag the role.
Joe refuses, like it's a racist thing, which is ironic since a major part of Jo Koy's real-life comedy act includes imitating his mother's Filipino accent, especially when she calls his name: "Dyosep!"
Unfortunately, Easter Sunday's script feels lazy and insulting. Screenwriters Ken Chang and Kate Angelo, as well as director Chandrasekhar, are not Filipinos — therefore unable to truly capture the essence of being Pinoy.
The images are stereotype: halo-halo, Catholic Masses, nurses, karaoke, and a balikbayan box. These symbols are fine, yes, but the writers don't dive deeper — making the characters seem nothing more than noisy, cardboard cutouts.
Sure, this is a light comedy, not a dissection of the Filipino immigrant experience. But the story merely glides through the surface of potentially more interesting angles.
For instance, Joe's mother (Lydia Gaston), which could've been one of the movie's highlights, is reduced to being a nagger with a history of child cruelty. She ends up a watered-down version of Jo Koy's hilarious anecdotes of his own mom.
The movie is set in Daly City, with Joe's mother asking for his presence on Easter Sunday, a grand occasion for his big Filipino family to gather for the traditional Mass and Filipino handaan.
Joe takes his clingy son Junior (Brandon Wardell), who is the non-Filipino audience's bridge to understand Filipino culture 101.
The entire clan wants Joe to succeed in Hollywood, yet likewise wishes for him to skip his casting calls. Then the plot careens toward a cat-and-mouse chase that involves Manny Pacquaio's gloves, Lou Diamond Philipps, and a thug with a gun.
At this point, it feels like watching an episode of a '90s sitcom on an obscure channel desperate to please Filipino audiences.
The only one who manages to elicit chuckles is Tiffany Haddish, who plays Joe's ex-girlfriend.
Easter Sunday is fast-paced and never boring. But it lacks heart and soul.
0.5 out of 5 stars
Now showing in cinemas.
