Movie Review: ‘You’re Cordially Invited’ Chaotic, Comical and Caring

Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon (L-R) star in “You’re Cordially Invited” (Photo Credit: Amazon).

(“You’re Cordially Invited” trailer courtesy of Prime Video)

Death comes like a thief in the night.

An untimely demise can steal hopes and dreams.

And an unexpected expiration could steal wedding venues as it does in the new Prime Video comedy film, “You’re Cordially Invited.”

In the romantic comedy starring Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon, a “stolen” wedding venue and wedding date show how typical and dysfunctional families can be when they come together for a chaotic, comical, and caring gathering.

Weddings have sentimental value.

People pick wedding dates for a reason.

The happy couple chooses a particular color scheme for a reason.

The wedding party is chosen carefully.

And most importantly, the venue must be perfect on a couple’s perfect day.

Some pick a church.

Other people pick a resort on the beach to say their vows.

But whatever a couple chooses, they probably assume there will be no problems on that special day when they book their registration for the venue.

However, when people do business with a company they already have a relationship with much of it is done through word of mouth, not contracts and credit cards.

So, when Jim (Ferrell) books the Palmetto for his daughter Jenni’s (Geraldine Viswanathan) nuptials with Oliver (Stony Bluden), the owner does not require him to put a credit card on file.

After all, Jim and his wife had their wedding at the Palmetto decades ago and are practically family.

Instead of taking Jim’s credit card, the elderly owner chooses to write down Jim’s name in the ledger for June 1.

Unfortunately, as she is hanging up the phone with Jim, she notices that her pen is out of ink.

And in the process of finding a new pen, she appears to suffer a heart attack.

In the meantime, and in between time, Margot (Witherspoon) and her sister Neve (Meredith Hagner) have equal affection for the Palmetto.

The sisters have fond memories of spending time with their maternal grandmother on the island where the Palmetto is located.

So, when Neve gets engaged to Dixon (Jimmy Tatro), Margot is determined to host Neve’s nuptials at the Palmetto for old-time’s sake.

Therefore, Neve promptly calls the Palmetto to reserve June 1 for Neve and Dixon’s wedding because she knows that the venue is only big enough to hold one wedding per weekend.

However, when Leslie (Jack McBrayer) locks in the date for Neve and Dixon, Margot makes sure to give him her credit card information.

Although Margot has receipts for Neve’s registration, no one sent Jim the memo.

As a result, Jenni and all her Gen Z friends show up at the Palmetto ready to party.

Unfortunately, Margot’s family shows up, too, and it does not take long before both wedding parties realize an egregious error has taken place.

And for both parties to leave the Palmetto happy, a compromise must happen.

Luckily, Jim is an understanding gentleman.

Margot is a little more uptight.

But with some common sense, the couples agree to share the dock for their relatives’ weddings.

In “You’re Cordially Invited,” Jenni and Oliver will say their “I Do’s” during the first half of the sunset.

Then, Neve and Dixon will tie the knot during the latter half of the sunset.

Then the couples will have separate receptions.

Crisis averted?

Or will the compromise lead to a chaos monkey, as Neve and Margot’s brother Colton (Rory Scovel) would say?

Well, the answer to that might be, when has a large family ever gotten together and chaos has not ensued?

Now, multiply that by two, and moviegoers might get a clusterf*** of comic gold thanks to the genius of Ferrell.

“You’re Cordially Invited” is laugh-out-loud funny.

It is not the funniest new movie, though.

That honor goes to “One of Them Days.”

But everything starring Ferrell is automatically hilarious.

And while Witherspoon is not a comedy legend like Ferrell, she knows how to hold her own against the comedy film greats.

But despite the greatness of Ferrell and Witherspoon, one of the biggest stars of “You’re Cordially Invited” is Leanne Morgan who plays Margot and Neve’s relative, Gwyneth.

In “You’re Cordially Invited,” Gwyneth is the crazy, horny relative that likes to get her rocks off when she sees a man that she is not related to.

Although she is married, Gwyneth desperately wants to jump on Jim, Dixon’s colleagues and even Pastor Luther, played by a famous musician.

Many families have a relative like Gwyneth who is not afraid of sexual conversations, even around strangers.

Gwyneth is that relative that makes everything sexual even when it is not.

While that behavior does not stun their relatives, it might be awkward for strangers.

What is also awkward in “You’re Cordially Invited” is Jim’s extremely close relationship with his daughter, Jenni.

The father-daughter duo even sings a sexually charged duet together, which is not normal at all.

But “You’re Cordially Invited” is ultimately a tug of war between a loving family versus a fractured family and Gen Z versus Gen X.

Despite Jim’s best efforts, he has a conflict with Margot’s family.

Additionally, Jim has problems with Jenni’s friends, especially her maid-of-honor, Heather (Keyla Monterroso Mejia), who has a problem with Jim constantly “gaslighting” Jenni, even if she does not know the real definition of that word.

And like many Gen Z members, Heather and Jenni do not mind calling Jim out when he uses offensive terms to describe women.

Unfortunately, “You’re Cordially Invited” should get called out for its predictability.

Nevertheless, “You’re Cordially Invited” is extremely hilarious, especially the word association scene involving Margot’s nephew, Kent.

At a time, when many believe Hollywood is dying a slow death, “You’re Cordially Invited” is one of those comedies that will at least keep the filmmaking business alive and well for the near future.

 

REGAL RATINGS

FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT

THREE CROWNS=GOOD

TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE

ONE CROWN=POOR

Todd A. Smith
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