First Sunday (2008)

New York Times
"[The film] fuses social observation and raucous, clean humor with a message of redemption." 01/10/2008

Reel.com 7 of 10
You're a studio boss and you want Tyler Perry, but Lionsgate ain't giving up its share of the profitable African-American phenomenon any time soon. So, after scouring the urban playwright landscape, you stumble upon David E. Talbert. From a P.R. perspective, the noted creator of many "inspirational musicals" has all the credentials necessary to be the next demographically correct cash cow. All that's missing is the drag-act dynamic and the Oprah Stamp of Approval. Both may be necessary to make Talbert's feature film, First Sunday, a beyond-the-target-audience hit. This well-meaning, if ultimately manipulative, morality tale definitely needs some kind of extra entertainment spark...While it's true that Talbert (and for that matter, Perry) caters to a segment of our population grossly underserved by Tinseltown's color blindness, it's sad that said subset has to suffer with mediocrity like this. First Sunday is not an unwatchably bad movie. In fact, there are moments of real emotion buried inside all the stock situations and blatant Bible thumping. Yet, what the movie really needs is more laughs. A little more humor would definitely help the gratuitous God stuff go down easier. - Bill Gibron
 
ReelViews 7 of 10
Based purely on the misleading trailers that herald First Sunday's arrival in theaters, one might be forgiven thinking this is another dumb comedy about individuals characterized by a shortage of brain cells. However, while the film occasionally falls into sit-com traps, it aspires to be more than the marketing clips lead us to believe. This is the directorial debut of noted playwright David E. Talbert, and it mixes comedy with drama to generally good effect. There are awkward moments and the ending feels excessively contrived, but there are things to like about First Sunday...From a comedic perspective, Williams steals a high percentage of scenes, but Tracy Morgan is also solidly funny when the script requires it (which is often, especially early). Ice Cube plays the straight man, and often resembles a scowling teddy bear. Over the years, the rapper-turned-actor has honed his skills in front of the camera; he's a much better dramatic performer today than he was a decade ago...As a screenwriter, it's not Talbert's finest moment and does a degree of damage to the careful development of the characters and situations that precede it. It's not enough to invalidate all of the good things sprinkled throughout First Sunday; the movie as a whole is pleasant, generally satisfying, and has a heart as big as its funny bone. - James Berardinelli