Director Jay Chandrasekhar directs a comical and lighthearted flick that is purely a joy. Easter Sunday is astounding in its comedic continuity. With Jo Koy as the lead, he displays his energetic comedy vibe. He blends it into the life of a father navigating many challenges with family and career conflicts. I saw Koy himself perform at the Chicago Theatre in the fall of 2021. Looking back at that performance of his, I realized how much Koy can bring his energetic comedy material to a lighthearted comedy. Easter Sunday made me realize how much meaning there is around family and the obstacles some may go through despite its setbacks.

With the concept of family, tradition, and culture being a major element in Easter Sunday, the scenario of Koy’s character juggling many frustrations spoke to me. Even though many families keep their traditions, Koy’s character finds ways to spark the joy of his family to make up for his own insecurities. Easter Sunday is engrossing as Koy’s character tries to keep the positivity with his family and himself intact. There are numerous annoyances illustrating tardiness, lack of communication, or just Koy’s character trying to find diplomatic solutions for his errors (even though many of them are not intentional). I found the joy in Easter Sunday when Koy’s character finds himself in problems with karma. That is because even his problem from the past is ones that he tries to resolve with his clever sense of humor.

In Easter Sunday, Koy is Joe Valencia. An actor and a comedian in Los Angeles, California. The film is based of the real-life of Koy’s career with stand-up comedy. Joe tries to land a big acting project, but he is also trying to be a good father for his son Junior. Junior is played by Brandon Wardell. In between Joe waiting for news from his agent, Joe is also getting ready to celebrate the tradition of Easter with his family. Joe’s mindset starts to hit plateaus as his mother Susan starts to stress out. Susan is played by Lydia Gaston. Apparently, Joe’s extended family keeps bringing in all kinds of problems to the table on the traditional holiday. This includes financial struggles, honesty problems, and a whole variety of cultural binds. All in between these problems Joe himself is still waiting from his agent and trying to connect with his son and his family. Easter Sunday continues keeps bringing in all kinds of family problems to the table, but it is presented in the most charming and entertaining perspective.

Koy is mind-boggling in his performance as an actor, comedian, and a father. He has that laid-back mindset, the positive attitude focus, and many quotes that many people will connect to. His presentations of them are true and honest. In a scenario of talking about family and all, there is a moment where he says, “My son dies when I take aways his phone.” That reminded me of how many people today state the obvious of the many distractions with the ones we love. The relationship between Joe and Junior has its moments. Easter Sunday reminded me that even at times when people in my family tell me something I do not want to hear, that it is never to be personally rude. It is just a reminder that some priorities are more important than the technologies that we are hooked on.

Easter Sunday is an adventure of laughter, disconnect, and many funny first-world problems. Koy’s performance had me in laughter. The times culture and tradition in Easter Sunday is relevant to today’s society. It is presented in the most faithful and enduring style of filmmaking from Chandrasekhar. Three and a half stars for Easter Sunday.