by Kay Curry
Northwest Asia Weekly
In Jo Koy’s “Easter Sunday,” which hits theaters August 5, a family gathers to celebrate the most holy Catholic holiday. Most of them were “guiltily” left there by the mums and “would rather be somewhere else” but were reminded throughout the day how important family is. In fact, it is sacred. Like the creepy baby Jesus on the mantelpiece.
(Disclaimer: I don’t find Baby Jesus creepy, but it’s interesting how they prove the figurine’s eyes will follow you. During Easter Sunday Mass, Coy did a full point on the altar, which may be related to Madonna’s” “Controversial” videos like prayers, depending on your inclination.)
When I was in high school, I spent every weekend at a friend’s house where her Filipino mom would cook a big meal, whether it was for two or 20 people. We are packing lumpia for every school excursion. Food plays a big role in any family that comes together to celebrate the holidays, and the treats mums and aunts come up with on Easter Sunday are amazing, but enjoying food isn’t all warm and fuzzy. This is also the subject of debate and competition.
Jo Koy as Joe Valencia (basically himself). His mom, Tita Susan (played by Lydia Gaston), and her sister, Tita Teresa (played by Tia Carrere), are constantly arguing over whose recipe is better and whose empanadas are better. Their competition is so fierce you’d think someone killed someone, but no, it’s “just” food. When I was in high school, I had a sense of this superiority in the Filipino community. At kids birthday parties, the competition is almost palpable.
While the ongoing infighting on “Easter Sunday” threatens to ruin their vacation, it’s also seen as an acceptable, even lovable part of the “crazy complicated Filipino family.” According to Joe’s son Junior (Brandon Wardell’s) new lover Tara (Eva Noblezada), they’re as “extra” as the halo. Like many close-knit families, there is always something brewing. There’s always at least one eccentric uncle — in this case, Arthur (Rodney Tow), a mailman with a utility weapon belt under his suit — and at least one cousin who’s the bad guy.
The cousin is Eugene Cordero, who owes money to the North Cali gangster “Dev Deluxe” (Asif Ali) for a truck full of luxury goods. I could have done it without the action movie. I know it kept Joe out of the festivities for most of the day and made him even more critical of his being an absent dad from the family including Junior. Koy plays a comedian looking for a TV show, so he’s always on standby for the next opportunity. The first joke was his mom Teresa complaining, “We’re all nurses. No clowns.” It was part of a joke about the large number of Filipino nurses in the healthcare world.
As usual, TV executives wanted to meet when it was least convenient. Somehow, there’s even a car chase that’s the last thing you’ll ever know about a family vacation movie. The shenanigans also gave Tala a chance to go to Junior School—he lives in Los Angeles, attends a private school, and carries a fancy “real” camera (not just taking pictures on his iPhone)—to learn about his privileges, and his father The level of effort is working for Junior’s benefit.
I totally get the part of the job, but the part of running around trying to thwart the gangster isn’t a common scene for most hardworking dads. I wonder how the movie would have been without this distracting subplot, the coolest part of which is the street race where Joe kicks his ass on a Subaru (the cop who caught them, Tiffany Haddish (Tiffany Haddish’s ex-girlfriend, who said she would expect the car to be driven by “two ladies and a Labrador”). A pair of Manny Pacquiao boxing gloves also contains Filipino pride (how is Pac-Man not the President of the Philippines?).
Overall, this is a film about Filipino pride and the opportunity for Filipino actors to play their race. In an interview sponsored by Gold House, Carrere said with a sigh of relief, “It feels like I can finally be myself…after 40 years in the industry.” She said that when she was at the general hospital, there was a ” Asian” cast, “without any distinction between each Asian background”. Participate in “Easter Sunday” and “represent our Asians, our Filipinos, it’s not even an idea. Thank you, Joe, for letting us catch up.”
Another old-school actor who has played multiple races but never played Filipino is Lou Diamond Phillips, who appears as himself in the film.
“Tia and I had a similar experience. We didn’t have these roles…it’s the arrival of the Filipino community,” Phillips said. “As Asians, we finally raised our hands. We’re used to being so polite and so quiet. But now I think we’re in a place…we can have our own strength, we can have our own voice, We can put it out there…that’s why the movie is more important…that’s what makes it a cultural touchstone.”
There is a joke in the movie that Filipinos are often mistaken for Mexicans.
Teresa’s neighbour told her to pay attention to what she said in Tagalog because he could understand “40%”. False identities are very interesting when you consider that very few Filipino actors have actually played Filipinos in the history of American cinema, or that we even know if a celebrity is Filipino. Koy’s character has encountered a lot of stereotypes and racism as he struggles to make a living on stage and TV.
Throughout “Easter Sunday,” he battled his agent and TV producer for a job without having to speak with an accent.
Koy spoke with Gold House about the importance of representation to his upbringing and how much he cherishes the chance to see Carrere or Phillips on screen. As a kid, he “just wanted to find something that represented me, that looked like me…Every time something looked like it, I was like, ‘That’s Filipino!’…is that I was able to raise the flag, [and say], ‘that’s me on the screen. ‘”
He also talked about his mother’s experience when he came to the U.S. and how excited he was to have the opportunity to produce “Easter Sunday” with a “Dream Team” of Filipino actors.
“You never would have thought something like this would happen… My mom, she came in 1969 and had no representation, no identity… When my mom was looking for other Filipinos, she really had to look for other Filipinos. She No IG. No Facebook… She’s alone looking for someone who looks like her and walks up to them, “Filipino? ” “Mexican. “‘Oh sorry.’ As funny as this is, it’s our reality. Let her and I see this happen now? That’s our family. This is our people.”
Kay can reach info@nwasianweekly.com.
