Director: Nicholas Stoller
Cast: Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon, Geraldine Viswanathan, Meredith Hagner, Jimmy Tatro
Screenplay: Nicholas Stoller
109 mins. Rated R.

There’s really nothing better than seeing a great comedy with a few friends. While that experience has slowly disappeared from theaters in recent years in relation to the lower box office returns for comedies, I’d argue that they more than deserve a comeback. The new release from Amazon MGM Studios, You’re Cordially Invited, may not be an all-timer classic to bring that trend back, but this new Nicholas Stoller comedy stills packs plenty of laughs and a few well-captured moments of dramatic beauty.

Due to an unexpected and unavoidable error, two families have accidentally booked the same wedding venue, the Palmetto Inn, on a secluded island that doesn’t have space for both of them. After some initial hostility, the father of one bride, Jim (Will Ferrell, Barbie) and the sister of the other, Margot (Reese Witherspoon, American Psycho), agree to terms in order to ensure their families both enjoy the day without invading too much in the other’s proceedings. Quickly, these terms begin to blend, flex, and break as Jim and Margot thwart to destroy the opposing wedding, potentially ruining both in the process.

I love seeing Will Ferrell do these more dutiful and loving characters, and Jim feels like a fresh character that would’ve appeared in SNL during his time there. His is a relatable, loving father, perhaps too involved in his daughter’s life to really do anything for himself. At the same time, he carries a nice amount of emotional heft as a widowed husband who is shouldering so much responsibility in the proper care of daughter Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan, Drive Away Dolls). As he relates to Margot in the film, when a child reaches the age of 18, you will have spent 92% of the time you will ever spend with them, which is a beautifully moving and tender revelation that made me want to call my parents. It’s refreshing to see Ferrell show some more range, and I think he captures the emotional beats as well as he hits the comedic ones.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Witherspoon’s Margot is a hard-hitting counterpart who dearly loves her sister and will do anything to ensure the perfect wedding. This is an interesting role for Witherspoon, who seems to be channeling Elle Woods if she closed herself off from the world. She finds a relatability with Margot that let me understand her even when I couldn’t condone her. It’s also nice to see her go toe-to-toe with Ferrell in handling the comedy rather than playing the straight-man role to his goofier Jim.

Stoller has an elegant direction here, with a more sweet and sappy tone, some beautiful title cards which break up the narrative into chapters (you know I love that) and gives the finished product enough gravitas that when things get silly it’s almost jarring. This comedy feels more in line with The Five-Year Engagement (with much better humor) than Forgetting Sarah Marshall or Neighbors, and I think Stoller’s restraint helps makes for a pleasant raunchy comedy.

Unfortunately, Stoller attempts for a romantic angle with Ferrell and Witherspoon that absolutely doesn’t work in the movie. Apart from the fact that I don’t think the two had romantic chemistry (they have much better animosity chemistry), I found that Stoller didn’t devote enough time in the screenplay for this to work, and it comes off as a complete diversion for the characters that isn’t successful at all. Thankfully, this choice doesn’t derail the experience, and the laughs that are derived from it work well enough to overlook this issue.

You’re Cordially Invited is not an all-time classic, but there are still plenty of good laughs, and I hope it finds an audience and doesn’t end up buried in the endless streaming options. Having seen the film in a theater, I wish that option was offered to others. I was laughing plenty and feeling the beautiful moments that the two families were able to play on, thanks to some elegant direction from Stoller, even when the screenplay missing a few narrative beats in the process. Seek this one out on Prime Video for a few good laughs with some friends.

3.5/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

For my review of Nicholas Stoller’s Neighbors, click here.