Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases


First Sunday (2008)

Director: David E. Talbert

Time Out rating

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Grafting moral uplift on to a slapstick caper with mixed results, this nevertheless captures some of the giddy eccentricity of the Ealing comedies it haphazardly resembles. The sketchy story concerns two Baltimore fuck-ups, Durell (Ice Cube) and LeeJohn (Tracy Morgan), who attempt a nighttime robbery of a flush church. They’re foiled when the place turns out to be occupied by various congregants, including a hinky deacon, a pastor’s daughter and a fey, snappy choir director who wouldn’t be out of place on ‘Project Runway’.

Fate and faith intervene, naturally, and while David E Talbert is too invested in the story’s pathos to find an enduring comic groove (benignly bitchy motormouth Katt Williams is the most consistently funny element here, and even he occasionally stumbles), it’s refreshing to see churchgoers portrayed with earthiness and a sense of whimsy rather than as fundamentalist nutjobs or untarnished saints—up until the final act, that is.

Author: Mark Holcomb

Time Out London Issue 1962 March 27 - April 2


What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields


Cast & crew

Director: David E. Talbert

Cast: Ice Cube, Tracy Morgan, Malinda Williams, Katt Williams, Michael Beach full cast

Genre(s): Comedy

Duration: 98 mins

UK Release: Mar 28 2008
US Release: Jan 11 2008



Most popular on this site


Top Stories

Has David Cronenberg turned tame?

Has David Cronenberg turned tame?

Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?

The 10 worst date movies

The 10 worst date movies

Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made

Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films

Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films

Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas

10 unlikely badboy biopics

10 unlikely badboy biopics

Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects

Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing

Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day

Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day

Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing