Movie Review: ‘You’re Cordially Invited’

by | Jan 30, 2025 | Featured Post, Movie Reviews, Movies | 0 comments


Review by James Lindorf

Writer and director Nicholas Stoller has experienced a roller coaster of a career since he first made a splash in 2008 by writing the Jim Carrey comedy “Yes Man” and directing Jason Segel’s “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” His career highlights include the 2011 film “The Muppets” and the 2022 release “Bros.” However, he has also faced some lows, such as “Gulliver’s Travels” and “Zoolander 2.” On January 30th, his latest project, “You’re Cordially Invited,” will premiere, featuring comedy powerhouses Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell for Amazon Studios.

Jim (Will Ferrell) is a widower and the doting single father of Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan). The pair have choreography greetings and more inside jokes than a group of friends; Jim makes her favorite foods, steams her clothes, and even styles her hair. When she drops the bomb on her latest visit that she is engaged to Oliver (Stony Blyden), Jim begins to spiral slowly out of control. Margot (Reese Witherspoon) is a high-powered reality TV executive in Los Angeles whose younger sister Neve (Meredith Hagner) is also getting married to her boyfriend Dixon (Jimmy Tatro). Failing to convince Neve to ditch their disapproving mother (Celia Weston) and the rest of the dysfunctional family and elope, Margot offers to plan the wedding herself. When the two weddings are accidentally booked on the same day at the same venue, each bridal party is challenged to preserve their special moment while making the most of the unanticipated tight quarters. The friendly atmosphere dissolves into a nightmare as fighting between and within the groups threatens the relationships.

“You’re Cordially Invited” is built like an inverted pyramid. It begins with great themes about healthy boundaries, honest communication, and the importance of family. The next level is solid acting and comedic performances from Witherspoon and Ferrell, as well as an eclectic supporting cast that includes Jack McBrayer, Fortune Feimster, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, and many more. Unfortunately, they are crushed under the weight of excess and slapstick. Ferrell sings the love song “Islands in the Stream” three times, once as a father-daughter duet. There are battles over the sunset and a useless and unfunny Nick Jonas cameo, and that is all before Ferrell wrestles an alligator.

The movie is at its best when the humor is more subtle and awkward, and the characters are more emotional, which mostly takes place in the first act and at the climax. At those moments, everyone is a target, whether young or old or living in the south or the city. Older people are overbearing, young people latch onto buzzwords without the knowledge or experience to understand them, country folk are slow to understand, and coastal elites are cold and speak nonsense. These individual jokes don’t have much depth by themselves, but they work well in tandem to support the themes of communication.

If you’re in the right mood for a laugh or enjoy slapstick R-rated comedies, then “You’re Cordially Invited” will be a hilarious hit. If Reese Witherspoon is also your queen of romantic comedies, then consider this a must-see with tempered expectations. However, if you prefer films with a bit more balance, emotional depth, and chemistry between its leads you might want to RSVP no. I give “You’re Cordially Invited” a rating of 3.5 out of 5 for its message and for making me laugh, despite my reservations about zany comedies. I anticipate that Amazon will see a significant increase in traffic this weekend, especially with the NFL on break, winter still in full swing, and two beloved actors starring in the film.

Director: Nicholas Stoller
Producer: Nicholas Stoller, Conor Welch, Reese Witherspoon, Lauren Levy Neustadter, Will Ferrell, Jessica Elbaum
Screenwriter: Nicholas Stoller, Nicholas Stoller
Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios
Production Co: Hello Sunshine, Stoller Global Solutions, Gloria Sanchez Productions, Amazon Studios
Runtime: 1h 49m