Easter Sunday | Movie threat – newsdubai

Jo Koy stars as a version of himself as Joe Valencia, a mildly popular stand-up comic whose beer-commercial catch-phrase brought him national fame. Meanwhile, his home life is a mess. He has joint custody with his ex-wife, Catherine (Carly Pope), of his high school son, Junior (Brandon Wardell). However, due to Joe’s life as a traveling comedian, he spent very little time with Junior during his formative years.

His relationship with Junior can be saved when Joe lands the role of the Filipino neighbor in a sitcom. Meanwhile, Joe forces Junior to accompany him on a trip to Northern California to visit his mother, Yvonne (Melody Butiu), for Easter dinner. Unfortunately, this lock-in time isn’t lock-in time, as Joe is always on the phone with his agent, who needs him out of dinner for one last audition with the network.

Easter Sunday brings us right into the center of Joe’s family drama – drama that forced him to flee to Los Angeles to escape. Joe’s mother and his aunt Teresa (Tia Carrere) are not on speaking terms, and Yvonne threatens to boycott Teresa’s Easter lunch, and Teresa plans to boycott Yvonne’s Easter dinner. Joe’s sister, Regina (Elena Juatco), resents that Joe left her to deal with all the family problems. Joe’s cousin, Eugene (Eugene Cordero), has run into financial trouble with the local mobster, Dev Deluxe (Asif Ali). Finally, let’s not forget Junior, who has pretty much given up on his dad ever being a good dad.

“…this lockout isn’t lockup like Joe is always on the phone with his agent…”

When Joe decides to help Eugene solve his money problems with Dev, Joe also finds himself on the hook for the cash – due that night. When Junior insists on tagging along, he falls for one of Dev’s confidants, Ruth (Eva Noblezada). Now Joe is on a crazy adventure to pay Dev back with the help of Marvin (Jimmy O. Yang) and Lou Diamond Phillips (Lou Diamond Phillips) and Joe’s ex-girlfriend and cop Vanessa (Tiffany Haddish).

Easter Sunday is what I call a comedian’s comedy … with a Filipino twist. The story is a way to poke (more nudge) fun at Jo Koy’s family as well as uplift and honor his Filipino culture. As a result, there is a healthy dose of Filipino “inside jokes”. Although I am somewhat familiar with Filipino society, I probably got about 80% of the jokes. Others may not be fair as well.

I saw the movie with a mostly Filipino audience and everyone had a good time. I laughed and had fun and I bet you will too. It’s great to see Tia Carrere back on the big screen with a meaty role and also to see Lou Diamond Phillips (who I just learned is Filipino) poking fun at herself.

As Joe, Jo Koy was made for the role…obviously. If you’re a fan of his stand-up comedy, you’ll especially enjoy Easter Sunday, and if you’re Filipino, it’s your time to show the world what you’re all about. I’ve certainly been there with Chinese-American films; in my case i am proud of my heritage and i want to show it to the world.

So let’s manage expectations. All in Easter Sunday played for laughs … wacky family, wacky mob thriller and lots of cameos. It’s all good, light fun. Watch it because you are a fan of Jo Koy or just to know a little more about your Filipino brothers and sisters.