‘You’re Cordially Invited' features Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon firing on all comedic cylinders

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Synopsis

In You’re Cordially Invited, overprotective dad Jim (Will Ferrell) is preparing himself for the marriage of his daughter Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan), who he’s not ready to let go of. There’s been a problem, though. A mix-up has caused Jenni’s wedding to be scheduled at the same island venue for the very weekend another wedding is taking place!

The other wedding is spearheaded by Margot (Reese Witherspoon), whose sister Neve (Meredith Hagner) is getting married. Jim and Margot try to amicably resolve this dilemma by sharing the island for the weekend, but Jim’s overbearing love for his daughter influences him to sabotage the other wedding at every turn. As the weekend goes on, he escalates his tactics against Margot to give his daughter the best day of her life.

My thoughts

They say you should never judge a book by its cover, and I suppose the same should go for judging a movie by its poster. It’d be hard not to pre-emptively judge movies if they have terrible posters, though, as it can indicate a lack of production value or professionalism as a whole. One type of poster that comes to mind is the one we often see for romantic comedies featuring the cast members standing in an empty, white void.

I dare anybody to take one look at the poster for You’re Cordially Invited (pictured below) that features a horrendously photoshopped Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell trapped in one of those empty white voids and not think it’ll be a painfully unfunny experience. With this poster and cast, you would think this movie had already come out in 2006, but the “PRIME – New Original Movie” shows that’s not the case. Yep, movie posters are still this terrible, folks.

YOU'RE CORDIALLY INVITED | Official Poster(Amazon MGM Studios)

Bad poster, good movie

It’s a good thing I’m not reviewing the poster, which also features the text “Written and Directed by Nicholas Stoller” at the top. When you have someone like him at the helm, the chances greatly increase that this might actually be pretty good. The man has directed some classic comedies like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, and The Neighbors movies, so when I saw he was the mind behind You’re Cordially Invited, I saw one green flag in a sea of red.

That’s not to say Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon are red flags, but as far as their comedies go, we haven’t really gotten that much significance from them over the past few years. Witherspoon has been far more focused on drama in the TV streaming sphere, and Ferrell’s comedic superstardom seems to have fizzled out with fewer projects. These two are 2000s comedy veterans, but would they still have the spark, especially having not worked together before?

Well, not only do Ferrell and Witherspoon both still totally got it, but they’re also both at their comedic best that they haven’t been in a long time. They both play funny characters on their own, but when they’re together on screen, they’re on fire. It never got old watching them trade verbal barbs or manipulate each other to ensure their family has the perfect wedding.

You get what you expect from both actors, with Ferrell’s abrasive outbursts and Witherspoon’s rapid-fire tongue spitting out venomous insults. Stoller’s dialogue is fast-paced and quick-witted, with each scene between the two yielding consistent belly laughs. It makes you wonder why the two haven’t done a project together until now, because they’re an excellent comedic pair.

There’s a definite mean streak to this movie, especially with Ferrell, who is more of the antagonist in this situation. I can see the devious solutions his character sinks to rubbing some people the wrong way, but the edge Stoller gives You’re Cordially Invited provides an amusing contrast to what’s supposed to be an idyllic wedding setting. The only reason any of this is happening is because the characters are careless and selfish, so it’s best to just go along for the ride they take you on.

Love and laughter for everyone

Stoller fills the movie with a healthy helping of verbal comedy, physical sight gags, and even some grade-A cringeworthy moments to keep it all varied. No matter what lane of comedy you like to travel down, there’s a little bit of something here for everyone. However, the second half does have some lulls, and when the end credits begin to roll, there is this feeling that You’re Cordially Invited could have gone further and bolder with the premise.

There is an effort to tell a genuine story and give the movie some heart, though. Stoller comes from the Judd Apatow School of Comedy Filmmaking, where the main focus is to be funny and make the audience laugh while telling a sincere, emotionally engaging story with well-developed characters. When he begins whipping out the sentimentality at the end, it all feels congruent with the rest of the film, making for a well-crafted story, even if some of what we saw before was more cynical.

The cast really gets to show off their talents in these moments, especially Ferrell and Witherspoon, who have only become more seasoned professionals over the years. Ferrell was the standout during these scenes and it only makes you want to see him do more serious roles like this. He’s dabbled in drama before, but he has this sweet vulnerability to him, especially as he’s gotten older, where this performance had much more humanity than we’re used to seeing from him.

Stoller plays everything in the script to the actor’s strengths, and that extends to the entire cast beyond Ferrell and Witherspoon. This is one of the best-cast comedies I’ve seen in a long time. There’s a bunch of hilarious people here, like Geraldine Viswanathan, Meredith Hagner, Jimmy Tatro, Rory Scovel, Leanne Morgan, Jack McBrayer, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, and Celia Weston. Those are just some of the names, but there’s not one weak link to be found, each one perfectly cast.

The whole range of characters does make the movie a little too busy, considering we have two different weddings, which means four sets of families. We get supporting characters for each side, with Jenni’s bridesmaids and Margot’s siblings and mother, with most of the cast members getting at least one little moment to shine. They all keep the movie light when Ferrell and Witherspoon aren’t interacting with each other, but it’s when our main stars are together is where it all really takes off.

Final verdict

You’re Cordially Invited could have definitely benefitted from tightening up the script and raising the absurd stakes of the premise, but Stoller and his cast still bring plenty of laughs to the table. Ferrell and Witherspoon are both firing on all cylinders, showing off to everyone just why they were such sought after comedy stars back in the day. There’s something charmingly retro about it all, echoing vibes of silly, broad comedies from the 2000s and if that sounds fun to you, then this one is worth attending. Don’t let the poster deter you.