FIRST SUNDAY
You will be praying for Monday...
Available at Amazon for $9.98First Sunday is a largely predictable and depressingly unfunny 'Robbin in the Hood' comedy staring rapper/sometime actor/producer Ice Cube and the US stand-up comedian Tracy Morgan. It tries a little too desperately to tug at the spiritual heart strings - disguising itself as a meaningful absentee parental comedy with a message - but clearly has nothing new to say about these morals and ends up just a preachy moralistic mess. Dureel Washington (Cube) and LeeJohn Jackson (Morgan) are a bunch of penniless bad boys who are continually on the wrong side of the law. On the run from a band of hoods after a failed attempt to offload a batch of wheelchairs, the two buddies find that they both need the help of some quick cash: Washington has just learned that his feisty ex-wife will up and leave town with his son if he doesnt financially support his kid, while the duo find that they have been sentenced to a staggering 5,000 hours of community service. So they configure a plan to snatch the money generously donated to their local church but the plan backfires when they realise that someone has already beaten them to the chase. Could it be one of the parishioners who they have taken hostage in the midst of the heist? Could it be that suited official who looks a little like Louis Gossett Jr? Do any of us have the attention spans to really care? The remainder of the movie is spent inside the church hall where the two dimwits attempt to interrogate the churchgoers to tease out the truth behind the stolen loot. The usual sob stories abound and we, like the rest of the hostages just want out! More nerve-wracking is the straining presence of comic Katt Williams as the bubbling, very annoying and continuously commentating on the situation camp choir director Rickey. But the main problem with the film is that Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan are just not charismatic enough actors to carry an entire movie on their shoulders (and debuting director David E Talbert not a talented enough nurturer to bring them into line). While Sister Act had the almighty presence of Whoopi Goldberg to gel events together when things proved sometimes tiresome, First Sunday doesnt have no where near the pedigree of comedic talent or character actor support to help audiences survive the films duration. First Sunday is an utter bore made worse by the preachy heard it all before lesson in redemption through responsibility. For all its bad taste and tired jokes White Chicks was far more worthy of the comedy label. If the only funny moment recalled in this movie is of a man being whip-synced to the lyrics of Minnie Ripertons Loving you then theres a serious problem with someones sense of humour. EXTRAS As with most plodding fare we have a generous array of extras to pepper and pad the disc. Here a commentary with writer/director Talbert, deleted scenes, outtakes that primarily feature Katt Williams, a gag reel and a Hood Robbin with the First Sunday Cast and Crew Featurette - none of which make the film worthy of a purchase.
rating: 1