You’re Cordially Invited Is a Laugh Riot

You’re Cordially Invited pairs up Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon during a wedding weekend after the wedding venue double books.

Please make sure to watch through the credits.

This is a hysterical laugh riot and Amazon is leaving so much money on the table by sending it straight to Prime Video. If I’m watching a comedy, I do not want to watch it by myself. No, I want to experience it in a shared environment with other moviegoers. Of course, my preference is for those moviegoers to stay off their phones–something that is unfortunately impossible in 2025. I was lucky enough to attend a theatrical screening in early January and was laughing my ass off. Would this be the case when watching in a solo environment? I don’t know and honestly, I don’t want to know. It does not change the fact that, in my opinion, straight to streaming is no different than the old direct-to-video releases.

How is it that the same island venue ends up booking two weddings? Well, you need to see the film to find out. I’m not going to get into the specifics because of spoilers. The film becomes case of one bad thing happening after another. Of course, it goes without saying that we should only have simchas.

Jim (Will Ferrell) finds out that his daughter, Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan), is engaged to Oliver (Stony Blyden). He knows calls up the same venue where he married his late wife. Not long afterwards, Margot (Reese Witherspoon) books the same venue when younger sister Neve (Meredith Hagner) becomes engaged to Dixon (Jimmy Tatro). Neither wedding party knows of the accidental double booking until the wedding weekend. Jim and Margot agree to make the best of the double booking. But given that this is a comedy, the two do their best to ruin the other wedding, making it an unforgettable wedding weekend. When you think it cannot get any worse for them, it gets worse.

How is it that Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon have never done a film together? The two have amazing chemistry here and I’d love to see them have more opportunities to work together. It does not need to be a sequel. Not unless they can improve on this one. But anyway, there are certainly things here that are on the cringe side of comedy, especially a particular song choice. And again, I saw this in a theater where the laughter was contagious. The film has some unfortunate timing following the recent LA wildfires. Margot works in LA and her mother, Flora (Celia Weston), asks about the fires in LA.

You’re Cordially Invited is hysterical and it’s a shame that the film is going direct to Prime Video and bypassing theaters. They are leaving so much money on the table! Comedies benefit the most from having a communal audience.

DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Nicholas Stoller
CAST: Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon, Geraldine Viswanathan, Meredith Hagner, Jimmy Tatro, Stony Blyden, Leanne Morgan, Rory Scovel, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Ramona Young, Jack McBrayer, and Celia Weston

Prime Video will release You’re Cordially Invited on January 30, 2025. Grade: 4/5

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Danielle Solzman

Danielle Solzman is native of Louisville, KY, and holds a BA in Public Relations from Northern Kentucky University and a MA in Media Communications from Webster University. She roots for her beloved Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Celtics. Living less than a mile away from Wrigley Field in Chicago, she is an active reader (sports/entertainment/history/biographies/select fiction) and involved with the Chicago improv scene. She also sees many movies and reviews them. She has previously written for Redbird Rants, Wildcat Blue Nation, and Hidden Remote/Flicksided. From April 2016 through May 2017, her film reviews can be found on Creators.

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