Seen on: January 11, 2008

The players: Director: David E. Talbert, Writer: David E. Talbert, Cast: Ice Cube , Regina Hall, P.J. Byrne, Katt Williams, Malinda Williams, Tracy Morgan

Facts of interest: Ice Cube also produced "First Sunday." That's not an interesting fact, but the only one I can think of.

The plot: With only one week to pay an immense debt, Durell (Ice Cube) and his buddy LeeJohn (Tracy Morgan) decide to rob their neighborhood church. Unfortunately, things don't work out that well...

Our quick thoughts: “First Sunday” is the first big stinker of 2008. Ice Cube’s latest comedy is yet another embarrassing mixture of bad screenwriting and terrible acting, resulting in 90 minutes of dreadful filmmaking that will make you want to lose faith in the genre once and for all. The basic idea of two buddies robbing a church to pay off their debts sounds hilarious at first, but David E. Talbert’s writing lacks punch and his jokes never take off.

The humor is as dry as an hour-long sermon, and all the characters seem to be doing is delivering preachy speeches about hope, honesty and the importance of family. I could smell the good intentions of the movie from miles away, but who wants to sit down and listen to bad actors offering bad performances in a bad movie filled with bad dialogue and a dreadful plot? Hardcore fans of “Are We Done Yet?” might appreciate the idiotic comedy in “First Sunday,” but those desiring to be entertained on a more sophisticated level better keep away from this congregation. 

Freaky quote: "This is not even my church, I saw this on MySpace" - Katt Williams

The final word: Although it’s hard to believe, there’s about a handful of movies out there in which Ice Cube actually delivered decent performances. Here lately however, his potential has hit rock bottom, although that won’t stop him from diving into more of these moronic projects. Let’s just hope this is the last Sunday, at least for a while.