A cringe-inducing, cinematic tribute to the Golden Age of Minstrelsy!
First Sunday (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:73
Fresh:10
Rotten:63
Average Rating:3.7/10
Consensus: First Sunday may have its heart in the right place, but its funny bone is dislocated.
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Genre: Comedies
US Box Office: $37,931,869
Synopsis: David E. Talbert makes his directorial debut with this comedy about Durell (Ice Cube) and LeeJohn (Tracy Morgan), childhood friends with a knack for getting into trouble. Despite his continual bad... David E. Talbert makes his directorial debut with this comedy about Durell (Ice Cube) and LeeJohn (Tracy Morgan), childhood friends with a knack for getting into trouble. Despite his continual bad decisions, Durell gets one thing right: he's a good father to his adolescent son. When he learns that the boy's mother, his ex-girlfriend, Omunique (Regina Hall), needs $17,000 to buy her beauty shop or she'll leave Baltimore and move to Atlanta, he's determined to get her the money to keep his son in his life. Meanwhile, LeeJohn needs big money fast to pay off some bad guys. Durell and LeeJohn decide that the collection plate of their local church holds the answer to their money woes. But their attempt to rob the church is foiled in progress: the money is already missing, and the would-be burglars didn't realize there would be people at the church. Finding themselves with a group of parishioners and choir members at their mercy, Durell and LeeJohn have to make some decisions about exactly what kind of men they want to be. FIRST SUNDAY also makes a statement about the role of the church in urban areas and its importance within the community. Keith David is Deacon Randy, who has grandiose plans for moving the church to a "less urban" neighborhood. Chi McBride stars as Pastor Mitchell, and Malinda Williams is his strong-willed daughter, Tianna, who wants First Hope Community Church to stay right where it is and expand its services. Loretta Devine is Sister Doris, the parish secretary and foster mother with a heart of gold. Ice Cube and Morgan have good rapport as the bickering buddies, with Morgan's silliness providing loads of comic relief, but Katt Williams is the scene-stealer as Rickey, the flamboyant choir director with something to say about everything and everyone. [More]
Starring: Ice Cube, Katt Williams, Tracy Morgan, Loretta Devine
Starring: Ice Cube, Katt Williams, Tracy Morgan, Loretta Devine, Michael Beach, Keith David, Regina Hall, Malinda Williams, Chi McBride
Director: David E. Talbert
Director: David E. Talbert
Screenwriter: David E. Talbert
Producer: David E. Talbert, David McIlvain, Tim Story, Ice Cube, Matt Alvarez
Composer: Stanley Clarke
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Reviews for First Sunday
Perhaps moviegoers demand simplicity and cheap laughs more than ever during tough times, but this must be discouraging to aspiring African-American comedians and writers.
Ice Cube is now Public Enemy Number Fun, although First Sunday is only fun if you're in dire need of a modernist urban take on the strain of comedy Abbott and Costello used to practice, which, let's be honest, wasn't that funny to begin with.
First Sunday pits the street against the church, but somehow affable mediocrity wins the day.
First Sunday is a movie about forgiveness that asks its audience to forgive too much -- with regard to both its characters and its makers.
Loretta Devine and Olivia Cole shine out as veteran members of the flock, but even their class combined is no saving grace.
If it was not for Morgan's goofy character or Katt Williams, I would be giving this movie a zero.
David E. Talbert's frenetically unfunny comedy about two losers who attempt to rob a church. Doesn't have a prayer.
The only time viewers will be inspired to sing halleluja is on their way out of the theatre.
On your own day of judgement, select a better film from the listings.
This heist comedy has a hackneyed introduction, and its feel-good ending lacks credibility, but the big, funny chunk in the middle marks writer-director-producer David E. Talbert as a talent to watch.
It has the slapstick of a The Three Stooges short without the comic timing, the characters of "Hot Ghetto Mess" without the irony, and the stereotypes of Amos 'n' Andy without the wit.
The movie's total lack of focus and its unimpressive script should render it totally unwatchable. Weirdly, that doesn't quite happen.
Combining the hijinks of the Friday series with the spiritual bent of Tyler Perry's work seems like an obvious move. For producer/star Ice Cube, it's also a dishonest one.
Your enjoyment of this movie may depend on the Tracy Morgan factor. Rarely has there been a comic who can switch from funny to unbearably grating with such speed.
Comedies don't have to be high in class as long as they are funny, entertaining and do not treat their audience like imbeciles. First Sunday fails all three of these qualifications.
If there's a God, First Sunday will be the last of its kind for Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan, who deserve better than this wannabe screwball comedy about small-time crooks knocking over a church.
Latest News for First Sunday
June 01, 2008:
Ice Cube and Katt Williams co-star in demeaning minstrel show ![]()
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May 05, 2008:
RT on DVD: I'm Not There is Here! Plus, News of the Blu-Ray Xbox 360 Rumors...
Microsoft comments on rumors that they'll be putting Blu-Ray players in Xbox 360s and the MPAA's best anti-piracy agents have bounties on their heads. Read more of this week's... More...
February 07, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Fool's Gold Hopes to Shine in Battle of New Comedies
Hollywood plays the race card this weekend opening a pair of star-driven comedies, one for white moviegoers and the other for black audiences. Matthew McConaughey and Kate... More...
January 17, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: 01.18.08 Arrives
For the first time in four years, the Martin Luther King holiday weekend will not be ruled by a film led by an African American cast. Instead, studios are rolling out a monster... More...
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