STUDIO: Sony
RELEASE DATE: May 6, 2008
STARRING: Ice Cube, Tracy Morgan, Chi McBride, Loretta Devine, Regina Hall, Michael Beach, Keith David, and Katt Williams
WRITTEN BY: David E. Talbert
DIRECTED BY: David E. Talbert
FEATURES: Commentary with Writer/Director David E. Talbert
Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Writer/Director David E. Talbert
Gag Reel
Outtakes Reel
David E. Talbert's Camera Wrap Speech
"Hood Robbin' with the First Sunday Cast & Crew" Featurette
The Almighty Version Fact Track

First Sunday is a weird, weird movie. It's clearly meant to be a comedy, but someone forgot to write jokes, and there's nothing remotely believable about the characters, so it doesn't work as a drama. It's so forgettable that it fades from memory while you're watching it. However, it should be noted that David E. Talbert's directorial debut is never offensively bad or awful to watch - it's just dull and that's certainly better on the cinematic scale than a lot of the hard-to-watch trash on the market. First Sunday is never "hard-to-watch bad", it's just surprisingly dead on arrival, especially when one considers the talented cast involved.

Acclaimed playwright David E. Talbert (Love On Layaway) makes his feature writing and directing debut with First Sunday. Durell (Ice Cube) and LeeJohn (Tracy Morgan) are two thieves, recently sentenced to 5000 hours of community service, who try to rob a church during a major fundraiser. Cube's character also has a son, who may be leaving town with his mom if his daddy can't get some money together, making Durell one of those criminals who's stealing from God for a good cause, naturally. He couldn't just be a criminal. He has to be a good criminal. And his good side shows through while he's holding a church-ful of people hostage, including Chi McBride, Loretta Devine, and one of the funniest stand-ups alive, Katt Williams. The problem is that someone beat them to the church's funds, so our two bumbling heroes have to hold everyone hostage to see who had the good idea to steal from God before them.

Ice Cube was once a riveting dramatic actor in Boyz N the Hood and an edgy comedic one in films like Friday, but after Are We There Yet? and its sequel and now this, he clearly isn't interested in anything with teeth any more. In the right material, Chi McBride, Regina Hall, and Michael Beach can shine. Loretta Devine is always great and forever underrated and Katt Williams is one of the funniest stand-ups alive. And Tracy Morgan rules every Thursday that 30 Rock is on the air. But First Sunday doesn't utilize ANY of their talents. The script is slow, dull, and bizarrely unfunny, unless you find the fact that the a/c is off hilarious just by itself. When Talib Kweli's great "Get By" pops in the final act, the movie gains a life that it never had in the previous 80 minutes, further illustrating how boring the whole affair has been. It's like a lot of Sundays in church - enough to put you to sleep.

Despite how horribly the movie is shot (everything is in EXTREME close-up), Sony still handles the video on First Sunday quite well. There are no signs of visual degradation and the blues and blacks are very distinguishable. In fact, I noticed no grain at all in the picture. It's surprisingly good, especially for a comedy. The audio isn't really outstanding at all, 5.1 channels in name only (just the score is occasionally pushed to the rear speakers), but you don't expect much for a comedy like First Sunday. The special features are much more than can reasonably be expected for a low-budget comedy with everything a fan of First Sunday could ask for, including a director's commentary, over 30 minutes of extended and deleted scenes, a gag reel, and more.