When two weddings are accidentally booked on the same day at the same venue, each bridal party is challenged with preserving their family’s special moment while making the most of the unanticipated tight quarters. In a hilarious battle of determination and grit, the father of the bride (Will Ferrell) and sister of the other bride (Reese Witherspoon) chaotically go head-to-head as they stop at nothing to uphold an unforgettable celebration for their loved ones.
What We Thought:
You’re Cordially Invited is 100% predictable. You know exactly how the movie will end and it goes on way too long. It needs a good 20 minutes (or more) chopped off it especially the extensive ending. That being said, my sisters will enjoy it. If my oldest sister watches it with her husband (who looks and acts like Will Ferrell in the movie), they will have a good time with it. I laughed at some of it, but it’s not for me. That’s fine, I’m not a rom-com guy.
Ferrell plays a single dad whose daughter gets engaged and he plans her wedding. Reese Witherspoon plays a TV executive whose younger sister gets engaged and she plans her wedding. Because of a screw up both weddings get booked on the same island at the same venue. Ferrell is upset. Witherspoon is upset. They decide they can work it out, but of course both sides clash and it’s Ferrell vs. Witherspoon.
Its biggest issue is that it’s too “today” and not a timeless comedy. Ferrell has a somewhat creepy relationship with his daughter which gets laughs especially with a song they sing together, but so much time is spent on their relationship and her trying to break free that that dynamic feels played out already. Witherspoon is a “girl boss” who doesn’t get along with her Southern family because she’s the big city type now and doesn’t go home to visit enough. She’s too important to remember the names of her nieces and nephews. Ferrell’s daughter and her friends use all kinds of today’s language like gaslighting (which they don’t even get right) and they all rely on social media. The movie will feel dated in two years.
The funniest part is, if this came out 15 years ago it would have gotten a big theatrical release and made a bunch of money. Ferrell and Witherspoon would have brought viewers to the theater. The director had done Forgetting Sarah Marshall two years earlier and the audience that saw that would have showed up for this. In 2025, people will stream it on Prime Video and forget about it a week later.
I’m not sure who You’re Cordially Invited is even targeted at. The future brides and their grooms are in their 20s and their friends are all that generation, but will real 20 somethings stream this? My sisters would tune in because it’s Reese Witherspoon doing a rom-com, but they aren’t necessarily Will Ferrell fans. Will Ferrell fans hoping for another Step Brothers or The Other Guys will be disappointed he’s playing a dad. I can admit I did laugh at it more than expected, but I also think I was laughing at how dumb it was. Like I previously said it’s completely predictable, but it’s also pretty harmless. There’s probably a sweet spot of people who will enjoy it, but by the end of the year I’ll totally forget it exists.
The Nerds Templar 