Let me take you back to a Hollywood not too long ago. Reese Witherspoon was a burgeoning star after Legally Blonde became a surprise smash in the summer of 2001, and Sweet Home Alabama was an even bigger hit with a global box office intake of $182 million. A few more years pass and Legally Blonde 2 and Just Like Heaven both became moderate hits making over $100 million each but 2005’s Walk The Line put Reese into the A-List Female stratosphere, after she nabbed a Best Actress Academy Award for her role as June Carter. Few more years pass, few more box office hits, few forgettable hiccups but Witherspoon became a household name very quickly.​

 

On the flip side of that coin, I will make the argument that for the better part of nearly a decade - 2003-2013; no one made more successful comedies than Will Ferrell. Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Blades of Glory, Step Brothers, The Other Guys, The Campaign, Anchorman 2. And that list does not even include some of his lesser hits and cameo appearances in some VERY successful comedies.

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If a film with this kind of comedic star power were released in the mid to late 2000s, when both Ferrell and Witherspoon were both box office juggernauts, asses would have landed in seats and this film would have been a success no matter the quality - good, bad or ugly. It also makes me think back to the pre-Rotten Tomatoes days where bad movies could make an absolute killing at the box office and remain unscathed by critical response.

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So it begs the question, what is You’re Cordially Invited doing being released on Prime Video, bypassing a theatrical run? Welp, the proof is unfortunately in the pudding because even with its star power punch and some laughs throughout, You’re Cordially Invited is a messy comedy that falls off the wheels at around the third act, stumbling its way down the altar until it crashes.

 

Even behind the camera and script, once again a great and familiar name is at the helm so it confuses me how this film fell apart. I have been a big fan of writer-director Nicholas Stoller for a long time, with Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Neighbours being two of my favourite comedies of this quarter century. Even one of his lesser known flicks, The Five Year Engagement is a film I will randomly put on in the background and have a laugh at.

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Like many of Stoller’s other films, the vulgarity and hilarity go hand in hand, and he leans into the hard-R rating with this one. Stoller uses Ferrell’s sharp comedic timing to introduce Jim, a widowed father to Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan), who he adores and is surprised to find is now engaged. As a gesture of grandiose love, he offers to plan his daughter's wedding at the Palmetto House, where he and his wife tied the knot many years before. Ferrell lands some seriously funny jokes and sets the tone within the first five minutes of the film, being the first character introduced of the main cast.

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On the flip side of the intro, we meet Margot played by Reese Witherspoon, a high-strung Los Angeles TV producer who’s cut off nearly all contact with her judgmental Georgia family, apart from her younger sister, Nev (Meredith Hagner), who’s madly in love with a devoted but dense Chippendales dancer (Jimmy Tatro). Hearing Reese drop a few f-bombs within the first few minutes of her being on screen was a great surprise and that surprisingly brash and crash southern Georgia tongue never let up throughout the movie.​

 

The film moves pretty quickly, getting to the main conflict of the film, as Ferrell’s Jim and Witherspoon’s Margot meet head to head at the front desk of the Hotel, realizing that their respective weddings have been double booked over each other. Ferrell and Witherspoon play off each other really well through the entire movie, where some heavy insults get thrown back and forth in hilarious fashion, setting what becomes an inevitable clash of the titans in terms of wedding planners. They pack a great chemistry that I haven’t seen Ferrell have with a female co-star on screen before, especially considering he’s always co-starring with a familiar Hollywood Bro - Reilly, Rudd, Wahlberg.]

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The first two acts of the movie, although ridiculous at points, pack some very funny moments, as the two weddings choose to co-exist on the island and share the space. Everything from the rehearsal dinner to the separation of ceremonies is batshit crazy but funny. My favourite moments of the movie are where Ferrell takes aim at Jenni’s Gen Z friends, all of whom are triggered by everything that comes out of his mouth. It’s a direct-to-the-face verbal backhand to a sensitive generation but Stoller’s script never takes it too far in terms of being insulting, choosing instead to skate bye and poke fun. Again, this is where Ferrell really shines.​

 

All seems to be going well, but then I found myself being totally taken out of the movie as the third act hits, simply because the movie goes from being funny, grounded in a sense of reality and simply about the war between the leads, into what feels very forced and too over-the-top. Without spoiling anything in case you choose to check the film out this weekend, there are several bouts of sabotage that weave their way in between these moments of sensitive reflection, but when a costumed zebra and an alligator find their way into the crossfire, it just isn’t funny.

 

I also think that having a sense of closure for both main characters by the finale is necessary, but it doesn’t feel like it reaches that organically amidst all the chaos going on between the two weddings, again opting for disarray rather than exploring what it is to create healthy boundaries and lines of communication with the ones you love.​

 

You’re Cordially Invited isn’t all that bad, I know I am sounding harsh. It knows it has chemistry between Ferrell and Witherspoon and exploits that to the fullest potential for us the viewer. The jokes land a lot more than they don’t and because of the R-rating, it takes advantage of that. I see why they opted to go the streaming route for this one, because I don’t see it doing well in at the box office like past Ferrell or Witherspoon hits. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for something to pass the time this weekend, You’re Cordially Invited to give this a try.