Let’s be honest: we all have had those plans for that big family gathering, hoping it will be a great time with no hitches. You make all these plans and arrangements hoping nothing goes wrong, but when you all get together, it is mayhem like in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”. Well, let’s look at an example of this on another holiday.
“Easter Sunday” is the latest film directed by and starring Jay Chandrasekhar (Super Troopers) alongside Jo Koy, Lydia Gaston, Brandon Wardell, Eva Noblezada, Eugene Cordero, and Tia Carrere. This is the story of Joe Valencia (Koy), a struggling actor and comedian of Filipino heritage living in Los Angeles whose big claim to fame is a famous “one Liner” in a beer commercial. Joe is currently in the running for a major role in an upcoming sitcom pilot while trying to be a better father to his teenage son, Junior (Wardell), who lives with his ex-wife. Joe and Junior take a road trip to spend Easter weekend in San Francisco with his mother, Susan (Gaston), and what follows is how this dysfunctional family deals with themselves and each other.
At right around ninety minutes, the pacing here is good featuring a script that works very well in the underlying story of relationships. Even though it is masked with comedy, there were some very good and heartfelt points within its story from a good cast highlighted by both Koy and Cordero.
Unfortunately, the comedy itself fell short for me. There were a few times I laughed, but not nearly as many times as I have in other films. I think they tried putting certain moments in to be considered a comedy, but in the end it just didn’t work. I loved what Chandrasekhar did with “Super Troopers”, but it seems he struggled when dealing with less “blue” material. “Easter Sunday” ended up reminding me of an extra-long sitcom that only gives a half-chuckle periodically, wo I will only recommend it as watching it on cable at home.