Movie Review - 'First Sunday'

First Sunday

Starring Ice Cube, Tracy Morgan, and Katt Williams
Directed by David E. Talbert
Rated R

I have this thing about the guy you call Ice Cube. I call him O'Shea Jackson, because he hasn't been Ice Cube in years.

To me, Ice Cube melted away somewhere along the way, probably right after Barbershop. See, once upon a time, Cube had something nobody else had. He was not built like a leading man, he had an angry look and a hardcore past as a member of the seminal rap outfit, N.W.A. Seeing him become the goofy dad in Are We There Yet? screams "sell out" loud and clear, and then you look around and realize there still aren't guys who can play Ice Cube the way he could. And that's a shame.

As Durell in First Sunday, O'Shea Jackson shows glimpses of Ice Cube again, although the movie can't really be called a success. Rather than dealing with the problems of suburban living, Durell ekes out an existence in the tough streets of Baltimore. He has brains but no ambition, and he has child support payments and a rap sheet but no job.

His best friend, LeeJohn (Tracy Morgan) also has a criminal past, but can't claim any brains at all. Together, they hatch a plan to rob the church, which Durell feels has been robbing citizens in the poor part of town for years by offering false hope, and wouldn't you know it: Hi-jinx, as they often do, ensue.

Unfortunately, despite the laughs - and there are few more than you'd think - making First Sunday a comedy is the worst thing to do with this plot and Ice Cube. As it stands, First Sunday is all too easy to dismiss, a movie of very little consequence peppered with a bunch of stereotypical jokes. It could be a more serious film about the challenges faced in poverty-stricken American cities, even by its brightest citizens, who fall into the trap of quick fixes and easy solutions with huge consequences.

That the real movie and the movie it should've been end the same way proves my point. Turns out Durell isn't the only thing here without ambition.