Will Ferrell is one of my favorite funnymen, but he’s been in too many clunkers over the last 10 years—and You’re Cordially Invited, co-starring Reese Witherspoon, might be the clunkiest.
In this pitiful slog, Ferrell plays a doting dad who books his daughter’s wedding on a tiny island that can only accommodate one wedding at a time—and he booked it at the same time as another family. What a setup, huh?
Hilarity ensues as the two families must share a hotel and reception area. It’s a tired, faulty premise that leaves its two stars straining for laughs. They do get a few; the funniest scene in the movie involves an alligator in a bedroom, a scene that feels like it should’ve been in another, much-funnier movie.
One funny scene involving a wily alligator doesn’t make up for a film full of groaners that include Ferrell doing a duet of Islands in the Stream with his daughter (kind of incestual … ha ha ha) and party revelers getting rained upon and falling into the water when a dock breaks (insert more sarcastic laughter).
Writer-director Nicholas Stoller has scored some big laughs before, most notably in the Neighbors films with Seth Rogen, the funny Platonic TV series (also with Rogen) and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He’s also made some duds (Get Him to the Greek, The Five-Year Engagement). Also, Ferrell and Witherspoon have no chemistry. They feel like they are in separate worlds and have no business sharing the screen.
You’re Cordially Invited proves the Will Ferrell Headliner Comedy Genre is in a state of emergency. He needs to make nice with Adam McKay and John C. Reilly and get back to the sort of vulgar, harmless fun that made him such a safe comedic bet for the first half of his career.
This is the sort of film you’d expect to see dumped on a streamer at the beginning of the year. The shocker is that this stars Ferrell and Witherspoon, the sort of celebrity superpower that demands better results.
You’re Cordially Invited is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
