‘You’re Cordially Invited’ review: Two weddings and a few laughs
Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell star in Nicholas Stoller’s uneven comedy, which is saved by two ringers.
Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon are ready to play, and “You’re Cordially Invited” has its moments, which is enough, probably, for home viewers in a five-or-six-laughs-will-do frame of mind. The comedy, written and directed by Nicholas Stoller, premieres Jan. 30 directly to Prime Video.
This one’s all over the place tonally, on purpose: Ferrell wrestles a fake alligator over here, while over there, Witherspoon bravely engages with her siblings and their intimidating mother to hammer out an honest reconciliation after too long. Male strippers in this corner, lonely-widower pathos in that one. A little of everything, just like life, if life were just like a movie like “You’re Cordially Invited.”
Set-up: A wedding venue has been double-booked! This comes as harsh news for Jim (Ferrell), who has poured his widower’s grief into Olympian-level doting on newly engaged daughter Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan). The venue holds personal meaning for the father of the bride, who has spent too many happy hours attending to his child’s needs to have things messed up now.
The venue snafu is equally bad news, on the other narrative track, for Margot (Witherspoon), a Los Angeles-based reality show producer diving into wedding-planner mode for her sister (Meredith Hagner). Upon arriving at the island inn managed by smiley, panicky Jack McBrayer, Jim and Margot escalate things quickly after an initial agreement to share the tiny venue between their very different wedding parties.
Adults, young and older, acting like sociopathic, zero-impulse-control children: It’s a comedy mainstay, I suppose, and director Stoller himself has been there plenty, notably with the two “Neighbors” films. He’s actually one of the more reliable contemporary filmmakers in the sphere of freewheeling star-driven vehicles, some very good and nicely modulated (“Get Him to the Greek,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “The Five-Year Engagement,” “Bros”), some peculiarly brutal in the slapstick guise (“Neighbors” and its sequel).
This one’s in between. The pacing’s a little odd, its jumpy editing rhythms somehow making a lot of the scenes drag instead of trot. After an hour of being stuck at the inn, with everybody acting like maniacs, you start to notice things like the dim, bland lighting of the cinematography (never good for comedy). As written, Jim is indistinct; when he starts acting out of character, the effect feels uncertain because we don’t have a sharp sense of what’s in character for this guy.
Stoller’s idea is that Margot and Jim loathe each other on one level, as they actively try to ruin the other’s hopes for a dream wedding by increasingly destructive means. They’re both also victims of contrived misunderstandings, and meantime they’re meant to be falling for each other against their will. Witherspoon’s timing is whip-crack good, and Ferrell’s is, too, on a different wavelength, even when the material’s settling for surprisingly witless profanity punchlines that don’t quiiiiite qualify as actual jokes.
The ringer — every middling ensemble comedy can use one — is comedian Leanne Morgan, as Margot’s sad-sack sister, reignited by the mere sight of Ferrell’s Jim (a “Redwood,” she calls him, salaciously) across a crowded floor. Her introductory mini-monologue consists of a laundry list of petty personal setbacks and woes, and it’s the kind of no-big-deal riff at which screenwriter Stoller excels. Morgan doesn’t grab the moment; rather, she deadpans her way through it, and it’s twice as effective as a result.
The auxiliary ringer? Celia Weston, as Margot’s passive-aggressive Southern Belle mother, makes hay with the more serious moments near the end. She’s a wonderful actor, on stage and on screen. If “You’re Cordially Invited” strains to bring its amped-up, often wearying feud to a satisfying conclusion, the stars give it their best shot, while the ringers do their thing with blithe assurance.
“You’re Cordially Invited” — 2.5 stars (out of four)
MPA rating: R (for language throughout and some sexual references)
Running time: 1:49
How to watch: Premieres on Prime Video Jan. 30
Michael Philips is a Tribune critic.
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