You're Cordially Invited

I like Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon.

I like Geraldine Viswanathan too.

Hey, I even like some of Nicholas Stoller's work.

But this ain't gonna cut it! Here's another cookie-cutter wedding comedy that fails to rise above its one-line plot. This desperately needed less of the slapstick and more of the dialogue-based stuff. Some deeper themes are added in-such as being disconnected from your family, parental insecurities, and so on. Most of it isn't dug beyond the surface; every problem gets an instantly workable (cinematic) solution. Yeah, well, it's not like you're watching an "Amazon Original Movie", where Will Ferrell grapples with an alligator, for lessons on life. Stoller has written (and directed) better material before (..I'm not naming names). And yeah, I didn't care much about the Nick Jonas and Peyton Manning cameos.

I am starved for comedy movies. They seem to be nearing extinction. So I sometimes make exceptions to my "I only watch theatrically released movies" rule for a chance at some laughs.

From one perspective, You're Cordially Invited did make me laugh out loud 12-15 times. On the other hand, it feels like another barely mediocre movie that we constantly see from streaming originals.

Will Ferrell has nearly all of the funny parts. Aside from him, I found the majority of the cast unfunny. The failed comedic attempts made me cringe on several occasions. And there are so many stupid moments and things that make no sense in order to make the joke work.

Maybe I'm the wrong demographic. But aside from a few laughs, I did not enjoy this movie.

(1 viewing, 1/31/2025)

Super cringey. Rating this a 2 instead of a 1 because the scenery is gorgeous and the clothes interesting. If they didn't use terrible language the whole time it might have at least been a 4. Awful characters, bad jokes. There are comments here criticizing Will and Reese as old but frankly it's just the awful script. For starters, the basic premise that a wedding would be booked without a deposit and no interaction with the venue makes no sense. None of the people getting married, no one in the wedding parties, and no family members are likeable. It's a shame because this should have been a cute wedding movie.

What happens when two weddings are booked on the same day, two different families from different backgrounds, will there be a compromise, or will they be chaos?

Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon do surprisingly click, both give each other time to be funny and never step over one another. But the rest of the movie tries too hard to be edgy, and the jokes don't really land. Some moments come across has more awkward than funny. Most of the other characters don't really grab your interest, but just make you want to cringe a little. Ferrell and Witherspoon are very talented, but I just wish the film had a rewrite.

As part of the 80s/90s rom/com generation, I was excited to finally see something new from Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell. However, the story, the dialogue, all of it was just average to bad. I watched because I like Reese and Will, but together (in this story) was a mismatch - zero chemistry. It fell flat from the start and never picked up. The only thing that made it slightly better was Leann Morgan, Jenni Viswanathan and Jack McBrayer - they were the "toothpicks" holding up the proverbial dock which was this sinking movie. I don't know what happened to the.

I miss the genius that created movies like Sixteen Candles, Say Anything, You've Got Mail, Notting Hill, and even Sweet Home Alabama. Will we ever see a great one again?