First Sunday
PG-13
Ice Cube, Tracy Morgan
98 minutes
Ice Cube (Durell) and Tracy Morgan (Lee John) decide to rob a church out of sixty-four thousand dollars because... well it's not really that important why, they need the money. They break in at night thinking no one is there, but the deacon catches them red-handed, breaking into the safe. Eventually the entire church is held hostage. From all this one can only assume hilarity ensues.
This is one of those 'better than you expect' comedies that typically comes out in January. These movies are actually better than you expect, the problem is the bar was set pretty low to begin with. Case in point, Kangaroo Jack came out at this time about five years ago, and it was indeed better than I expected, but I digress.
The humor was fairly low brow, and the one-liners where hit and miss (mostly miss), yet I couldn't help but chuckle throughout the film. It almost seemed like they were making fun of the whole 'bad urban comedy' genre. I had no problems with Ice Cube, but Tracy Morgan's performance seemed rather restrained and perfunctory. The movie is not without its charm though, the story made sense, some subtle social commentary was present; the more dramatic elements of the movie are done quite well, enough to make you really feel for the characters.
First Sunday is not god awful, it's a little bit better, I would rate it at slightly better than medicore. If this type of movie suits your fancy, buy it when it comes out on dvd (used), but don't embarrass yourself by displaying it prominently on your movie shelf.
Final Verdict: 65 out of a possible 100
Side note: a couple actors from the television program, Boston Public are in this movie. Guess which ones, you may be surprised.