Over the course of a nearly 30-year career in stand-up comedy, Jo Koy has made a name for himself by telling wild-yet-relatable stories about his eccentric family. It only makes sense, then, that when it came time for Koy to make the leap to the big screen, he brought his family along with him — at least, in spirit.
In his leading man debut, Koy stars in and produces Easter Sunday, a personal, outlandish love letter to Koy's Filipino-American community that brings the sweet-natured irreverence of his stand-up specials to a wider audience. Surely, if you've seen Koy's comedy before, you know how the veteran comic can spin his deep-seated love and complete bewilderment for his home life into hilarious, outlandish anecdotes. Hopefully, that tradition will continue with this brand-new studio comedy, which debuted its official trailer.
As the movie's first promo showcases, Easter Sunday centers around a fictionalized version of Koy, who returns home to his supportive yet demanding family to celebrate Easter festivities. What ensues is a lot of bickering, yelling, eating, drinking, laughing, and loving. Along with some other, potentially dangerous activities to boot. Though the trailer doesn't shy away from some of the more riotous plot developments that will ensue, Easter Sunday's trailer mainly highlights the pinpointed hilarity of Koy's familiar stand-up act, which should make it an easy sell for fans who've followed the comic's career throughout the years.
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Also starring Lydia Gaston, Tia Carrere, Brandon Wardell, Eva Noblezada, Asif Ali, Rodney To, Jimmy O. Yang, Eugene Cordero, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Tiffany Haddish, Easter Sunday does boast quite a big ensemble, but it mainly signifies a major step forward for Koy. Though the comic has produced several hour-long stand-up specials and has performed several stand-up tours throughout the decades, Koy has stayed on the stage throughout his career. He only has a select few acting credits to his name, including a recent guest appearance on Netflix's sitcom, Mr. Iglesias. You could count Koy's previous movie roles on one hand, surprisingly. Given his upcoming role in Netflix's The Monkey King, though, along with this new comedy, that could be subject to change soon, of course. Certainly, Koy has the benefit of knowing that he has one major filmmaker willing to go to bat for him: Steven Spielberg.
During his recent appearance at CinemaCon to promote Easter Sunday, Koy noted that Spielberg was the person responsible for getting this movie up and running. The prolific filmmaker watched Koy's 2019 Netflix stand-up special, Jo Koy: Comin' in Hot, and wanted to learn more about Koy's family dynamic. It certainly helps to have fans in high places, and if this movie goes over well, it could signal an exciting, thriving new stage in Koy's constantly-developing career.
Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar (Super Troopers 1 & 2), who also plays a supporting role, Easter Sunday will screen exclusively in theaters on August 5th. Check out the official trailer and poster below.