Universal Pictures has released the first trailer for the Jo-Koy starring comedy vehicle “Easter Sunday.” The film, Koy’s first as a lead in a feature, sees a son return home for a family reunion only to find out that he must help his bickering family make amends in one day.
Though the trailer gives us snippets of the comedy that comes from hilarious family dynamics, the films draws from personal experience and his standup comedy routine. So there are a few sprinkles of how he lived his dream being a beer spokesman and how his sister lived her mother’s dream to become nurse. Then there are jokes about how the family shares the same ATM PIN number, which happens to be Manny Pacquiao’s birthday. There there are the petty jokes about how aunties wear the same dress to the same event.
But the biggest takeaway from is how the film is about a family that just so happens to be Filipino. Being able to see yourself and immediately connect to the characters means a lot for those who’s felt invisible when it comes to film and TV. So while there are cultural specificities, the main idea is that family is family. And if you learn a little bit about the Filipino culture, that’s a bit of a bonus too.
Easter Sunday features an all-star comedic cast that includes Jimmy O. Yang (Silicon Valley series), Tia Carrere (True Lies, Wayne’s World films), Brandon Wardell (Curb Your Enthusiasm series), Tony nominee Eva Noblezada (Broadway’s Hadestown), Lydia Gaston (Broadway’s The King and I), Asif Ali (WandaVision), Rodney To (Parks and Recreation series), Eugene Cordero (The Good Place series), Jay Chandrasekhar (I Love You, Man), Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip) and Lou Diamond Phillips (Courage Under Fire).
Here’s the official plot synopsis for “Easter Sunday:”
Stand-up comedy sensation Jo Koy (Jo Koy: In His Elements, Jo Koy: Comin’ in Hot) stars as a man returning home for an Easter celebration with his riotous, bickering, eating, drinking, laughing, loving family, in this love letter to his Filipino-American community.
Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, using a script penned by Ken Cheng, “Easter Sunday” is set to open in theaters on August 5, 2022. The film is produced by Rideback’s Dan and Jonathan Eirich. “Easter Sunday” is executive produced by Koy, Jessica Gao, Yang, Cheng, Joe Meloche, Nick Reynolds and Seth William Meier.
