Keep the faith. Steal the rest.
Durell Washington and LeeJohn Jackson are best friends and bumbling petty criminals. When Durell learns that his ex-girlfriend plans to move to another state with their son Durell Jr.--unless they can get her $17,000 to pay off a debt-- and so Durell and LeeJohn ultimately comes up with a desperate scheme to rob their neighborhood church. But when the duo fumbles their way through the break-in, they discover someone has beaten them to the punch. In order to get their hands on the money, Durell and LeeJohn are forced to spend the night in the presence of the Lord and his followers--and end up getting a lot more than they bargained for.
Genre(s): Comedy, Crime, Drama
Runtime: 96 minutes
Rating: 3.4/10 (4,531 votes)
Release Date: 11 January 2008
Country: USA
Languages: English
Company: Cube Vision
Sound: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for language, some sexual humor, and brief drug references.
Director(s): David E. Talbert
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Producer(s):
Matt Alvarez - producer
Stacy Cramer - executive producer (as Stacy Kolker Cramer)
Ice Cube - producer
Trae Ireland - co-producer
Neil A. Machlis - executive producer (as Neil Machlis)
Jessica McCullagh - associate producer
David McIlvain - producer
Ronald G. Muhammad - executive producer (as Ronald Muhammad)
Tim Story - producer
David E. Talbert - producer
Julie Yorn - executive producer
Writer(s):
David E. Talbert - (written by)
Cast:
Ice Cube - Durell
Katt Williams - Rickey
Tracy Morgan - LeeJohn
Loretta Devine - Sister Doris
Michael Beach - Deacon
Keith David - Judge B. Bennet Galloway
Regina Hall - Omunique
Malinda Williams - Tianna
Chi McBride - Pastor Arthur Mitchell
Clifton Powell - Officer Eddie King
Music: Stanley Clarke
Matt Alvarez - producer
Stacy Cramer - executive producer (as Stacy Kolker Cramer)
Ice Cube - producer
Trae Ireland - co-producer
Neil A. Machlis - executive producer (as Neil Machlis)
Jessica McCullagh - associate producer
David McIlvain - producer
Ronald G. Muhammad - executive producer (as Ronald Muhammad)
Tim Story - producer
David E. Talbert - producer
Julie Yorn - executive producer
Writer(s):
David E. Talbert - (written by)
Cast:
Ice Cube - Durell
Katt Williams - Rickey
Tracy Morgan - LeeJohn
Loretta Devine - Sister Doris
Michael Beach - Deacon
Keith David - Judge B. Bennet Galloway
Regina Hall - Omunique
Malinda Williams - Tianna
Chi McBride - Pastor Arthur Mitchell
Clifton Powell - Officer Eddie King
Music: Stanley Clarke
Posted on: January 1, 2008
January 22nd, 2008
It was supposed to be entertaining. I doubt Ice Cube is crossing allfingers and toes that he'll get an Oscar nod. Lighten up! Big deal.
Not every movie has to be a groundbreaking blockbuster hit. Theinspirational messages (considered silly by some) might hit certainpeople that didn't anticipate getting a message from the movie. Momma Ttalking to Ice Cube at the end was a great message and the teens thatmight see this movie need to hear it.
Lots of teens will see this movie I'm sure and they will walk away witha positive message, who knows. If you saw this movie and weredisappointed in it, you must have had sky high hopes and it was CLEARAS DAY what the movie was going to be like in the commercials. If youthink you wasted your time, you need to pay more attention tocommercials before going out to the theater. Come on man!
But to me, Katt Williams made it worth while, he never fails me.
January 26th, 2008
We saw this movie and the "The Bucket List" the same day and both werebilled as comedies. Even though the latter has the more accomplishedactors in Freeman and Nicholson as well as the the director in RobReiner, we thought that "First Sunday" was much more funnier. I likedboth movies and both had tender moments, but I got into the charactersmore so in"First Sunday", than I did in the List.. Now I must admitthat if you are not African-American, you might not get all of it, buteveryone in the racially mixed crowd in the theater I saw it at inSouthern California "loved" it.!! If you are afraid to be seen viewingit in a movie theater, at least support the cause by renting it when itis available on DVD
April 10th, 2008
First Sunday was one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. It willhave you laughing throughout the whole movie. It also had some greatmeaning and a great message as well. The acting was very good as well.I think that Tracy Morgan is the funniest actor out in movies today. Ithought that the story of them robbing a church though was not a goodmessage and not thought through that well. After they tried robbing thechurch though at the end the movie taught you a great message. I thinkthat all ages can also love this movie. Some of the funny parts in thismovie almost made me fall on the floor laughing. I don't think I havescene to many movie that were as funny as this movie. All and all thismovie was great. It was sad, funny and had a great message to it aboutGOD always giving you a second chance in life. That is true to that GODdoes give everyone a second chance. I don't think that this movie wasall about GOD either it was mostly a comedy. It was very funny atseveral different scenes. I think Tracy Morgan is very funny. I dounderstand why people don't like this movie. Most people will probablythink that it was stupid. Some will think why in the world would youmake a story about two people robing a church. In my opinion it wasgood they made a movie like this. It was very original if you ask me.Well anyways just see this movie and see what you think. It's not asbad as people make it sound.
April 21st, 2008
first of all i do not get some of the reviews here( probably because assome admit have not seen this feature to the end). well i did andoverall i was pleased, actually the morality tale is very good justsimplified probably because of the need to get a pg-13 rating. thishowever gets only 6 stars because the Rickey character ( ice cube'spartner) which has some wacky lines at best unfortunately reminding meof the idiotic "scarry movie" franchise and alike. also in the churchscenes there are some parts that are too soap-oprah, even if i can seethe good intentions in that. i add an extra star because the originaland refreshing flavor ice cube brings to the industry, with a blend ofjokes that at surface seem very simplistic but combining them with the"other" ice cube gives those very jokes a new dimension , sometimesvery deep ones and very sarcastic at that as well.then again, iconsider sarcasm the best joke ever told because ,unlike just a "funny"one, it has generally a morality tale that might just teach(or preach)something, someone, somewhere…
now there is another reason this movie did not do good. everyoneprobably knows ice cube for his "toughest persona" as i do, from hisold school rap with hits such as "…. the police" or "gangsta rap mademe do it". therefore "gangsta" fans would be probably disappointed bythis. actually if one takes a closer look at ALL ice cube movies sincebarber shop, one can see that he really does not condone violence atall. better yet, ALL the "tough" "gangsta" characters in his featuresare made "fun" of as not being "cool" at all, sometimes outright"stupid" ones. but unlike the mainstream media ice cube does not blameviolence be invoking FEAR, or disturbing behavior. just like in hisvery political songs , the fear factor is always played on only toinvoke "rightfull" repression. and one familiar with his activism cansee how skillful he is able to stay away from THAT "disturbing"behavior in itself.
furthermore, while this feature is not as good as "Friday after next"when it comes to having hilarious jokes (i miss Mike Epps to be trulywith you here,Katt Williams does not even come close to fitting hisshoes)there is a bit more "soul" here. this is a very much family movie, quiet naive i might add but as i said before, simplifying issues doesmake it more on everyone understanding. but that requires that theviewer see it to the end. there is one scene i personally do not likeit. the one that inserts an indirect commercial for play station…welli hope at least he got paid for it, and the viewers will know to"avoid" too deep thoughts on that one…
as last words, i like ice cube overall. he is not a great actor, but healways gives me the vibe of being natural. after all, when you telling"hood" stories no "class" acting would help since this is about realityand not "art"( art being a subject of personalization and subjectivity,but not of that as reality is on the "ground"). this will entertainyou, i might add "good old family fun". not one of my favorites( Fridayafter next remains the top one so far) but definitely a better one outthere comparing it to the dumb "meet the Spartans" for example.
May 4th, 2008
The movie can really touch with its emotional aspect, which consist ofthe old motive that money can't always buy anything. There are somegood in the hood laughs, but not worth to remember. I personally thinkthat Ice Cube can do better, and he can achieve something more greatthe "Friday" series.His acting is getting better and better, but heshould try to change the plot of his movies or maybe a drastic changein his character.At all, this movie production is not somethingamazing,but this is not its main mission. It's just a good comedy, thatcan waste your time, without wasting its limit. By the way its worthnothing the fact that there are some really funny characters that arereally moving the thing in this production. Like the chore director forexample, or the priest.Actually this is the main element that makes merate the movie at a more high score. It seems that almost everythingwas half-baked- the plot is good, but could have been better, and theactors a re funny,but could be funnier.
May 13th, 2008
Well, I think the rating on here of 2.7 thusfar is probably a littlelow, but this movie certainly doesn't have much going for itnonetheless. It's not original at all, and in terms of being a comedy,did little more than make me smile at a line or two. But it is ratherharmless, and it does try to have a positive message. Frankly, I thinkthe writer/director was trying to imitate Tyler Perry, and did sorather poorly. There's even a character in one scene that appears to bea male actor impersonating an older female (though the charactermysteriously disappears with no explanation). All in all, I wouldn'trecommend this, but if you're looking for something to watch with thekids, they might enjoy it, and won't come away traumatized.
May 17th, 2008
Let me start off with the bad things in this movie:
-There was a lot of unbelievable material.
-Some of the acting was poor.
-Most of the funny material wasn't funny at all.
-There was about 2 to 3 clichés
Now, the good things:
-I "DID" laugh at maybe 4 lines.Not hysterical laughing, but still alittle chuckle.
-It managed to keep me entertained, and I was actually sucked into thestory plot a little.
Overall, this movie "WAS" kind of bad, but not terrible.I wouldn'trecommend it, but yet wouldn't say to absolutely avoid it.
It was nothing special, but if you feel like watching it, be my guest.
May 22nd, 2008
First Sunday is about two losers played by Ice Cube and Tracey Morgan.The two guys go through life getting in trouble with the law again andagain. The courtroom scenes feature a white prosecutor and a blackfemale defense attorney, there's one funny moment between them in thefirst courtroom scene. Ice Cubes character tries to do good but TraceyMorgan keeps getting them into trouble, so in this clique ridden filmwhat happens? They need to get money to buy themselves out of troubleand to stop Ice Cubes kid from moving. They decide to steal it from achurch, thats when the movie finally takes off, halfway through themovie. Katt Williams is funny but he tries too hard. It becomes awhodunit for a few minutes. Long story short, the Deacon of the churchwas stealing the money anyways, so the Judge lets Morgan and Cube go,they reform blah blah blah. OK, I thought it could've been a lotfunnier, it was too preachy and unoriginal. It really seemed like aChristian movie, which is who it was made for the Tyler Perry fan base.Williams, Morgan and Cube have all been better, this was a letdown anda waste of 5 bucks. If you're a bud head or a Christian you might likeit. If you're a Republican or a Cineast you'll probably hate it.
June 7th, 2008
I got this movie because my wife likes movies that come out of theBlack culture—I'd read all the reviews, which were uniformlynegative. But we watched it together.
I'm glad I did. I'm one of those rare White pastors who has had thehonor of serving as pastor of an African-American congregation. Thecomments about how this movie is "stereotypical" reflect a very Angloview of life that has never been part of a Black church. The movielifted up the humor of how Black churches work, and the sort of folksoften found in them.
The Writer/Director grew up in a family of preachers. He was trying toshow both the humor of what people are like in African-Americanchurches, and how some positive male role models are needed in theBlack community; men who care about their sons, may make mistakes, butwill always try to do the right thing. To expect Ice Cube to be a"comedian" in this movie is to misunderstand his role: he was trying todo the right thing in the midst of craziness. He played the straightman, and left the comedy to others.
Those who look at this movie in the light of the way most Hollywoodstories are reviewed didn't get it. Those who have never been part of achurch community didn't get it. THIS WAS A CHURCH MOVIE! Taken on itsown terms, it was a joy.