Jo Koy

LOS ANGELES (AP) - For a comedy, Jo Koy's new movie “Easter Sunday” had a lot of waterworks. The film was no ordinary job for the comedian and the rest of ...

“The relationship between a mother and son is the same no matter what ethnicity,” Koy said. He envisioned a mix of Ice Cube's “Friday” and the holiday flick “It's a Wonderful Life.” A producer, too, Cheng wrote it in 2020 during lockdown. “There's this responsibility that they put on their shoulders when they make it to this country,” Koy said. Chicago's Kasama became the only Michelin-starred Filipino restaurant in the country. “A lot of that is how enthusiastic everyone was about building a movie around Jo.” For example, he wanted a scene in “Easter Sunday” showing the family packing customary balikbayan boxes. Hollywood is populated with notable half-Filipino actors like Vanessa Hudgens and Darren Criss. But Koy is the one leaning into his heritage in his work. Filipino culture and history have been gaining more mainstream visibility in recent years - mostly because of decades-long activism by Filipinos. “Some of them I wanted to call them and be like ‘Hey, man! The film was no ordinary job for the comedian and the rest of the cast. The production comes at a time when Filipino American food, history and advocacy are increasingly emerging into the zeitgeist. Koy, who is half Filipino and half white, is making his feature film debut in a movie largely inspired by the material from his Netflix stand-up specials.

The typically funny Filipino American standup's smart and loving observational comedy falls flat in inoffensive PG-13-rated "Easter Sunday."

A subplot revolving around Joe’s hustling cousin Eugene (who turned his food truck into a “hype truck”), the Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao’s boxing gloves and a local hood by the name of Dev Deluxe (Asif Ali) is great on the communal reverence for the PacMan but winds up being silly. For all the food jokes, the bickering family scenes, a winking cameo by Lou Diamond Phillips and a divinely spooky Baby Jesus statuette, it was not to be. Instead of character and chemistry, the film employs a series of running gags meant to support the star’s likability and not compete with his wisecracks. Although his R-rated comedy is great, that “Easter Sunday” is more sweet than tart isn’t the issue. Joe takes the bait, the mic and delivers a homily that has them chuckling in the pews. When we meet him, Joe has an important audition for a TV show, one that could take him to the next level.

The cast of Easter Sunday including Jo Koy, Jimmy O. Yang, Tia Carrere, Lydia Gaston, and Director Jay Chandrasekhar joined CinemaBlend to discuss their ...

CHICAGO — On the Dean's List/A-List interview, a long-time friend of the WGN News Morning Show who's out with his first feature length movie.

ST. LOUIS – “Easter Sunday,” a movie starring Filipino comedian Jo Koy comes out this Friday. He made a stop at Guerrilla Street Food in Maryland Heights ...

LOS ÁNGELES (AP) — Para ser una comedia, la nueva película de Jo Koy, “Easter Sunday”, tuvo muchos lagrimones.

Hay mucha gente que vive en este país que necesita ser escuchada y es hora de escucharla”. Por ejemplo, quería una escena en “Easter Sunday” que mostrara a la familia empacando las cajas tradicionales de balikbayan. Predice que las generaciones más jóvenes elevarán los perfiles de los filipinos en los próximos años. Durante años, la comida filipina ha sido aclamada de vez en cuando como la próxima tendencia culinaria. Los filipinos, por lo general inmigrantes de primera generación, suelen enviar cajas con productos estadounidenses a familiares en Filipinas. El envío de cajas de balikbayan es prácticamente una industria por sí misma. ) que hace un cameo en “Easter Sunday”, también se desempeñó como productor. Koy interpreta a Joe Valencia, un cómico aspirante a actor que viaja a la casa de su familia en el Área de la Bahía de San Francisco para las vacaciones de Pascua. Intenta vincularse con su hijo adolescente mientras trata con parientes bien intencionados pero autoritarios. “Desde ese día hasta el primer día que empezamos a rodar fueron algo así como cinco meses y medio. Jimmy O. Yang, actor de “Crazy Rich Asians” ("Locamente millonarios") y “Love Hard” ("¡Qué duro es el amor!" Luego recurrió a Steven Spielberg, cuya compañía Amblin Partners coproduce la película, y a las pocas horas el legendario director lo había leído y había dado su aprobación, según Cheng. Ella nunca había visto eso antes”, dijo Koy, de 51 años, a The Associated Press. “Todos lloramos y celebramos juntos porque fue como ‘OK, este será uno de muchos momentos aquí’”. La película no fue un trabajo ordinario para el comediante y el resto del elenco.