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You’re Cordially Invited is a rare film where the trailer came out almost 9 months before its release, and said release date didn’t change.
As such, it seemed like a film that Amazon Prime Video wanted to shout about from the rooftops, but when it came to previews, it was not available prior to streaming. By the time of writing this review, it’s now been out for a couple of weeks, but once a release date has passed, it’s no longer a priority.
Still, for a plot, widower Jim (Will Ferrell – Despicable Me 4 in 3D) gets a shock when 18-year-old daughter Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan – Drive-Away Dolls) brings home boyfriend Oliver (Stony Blyden), since it indicates she’s no longer his little girl any more, and he’ll get ’empty nest’ syndrome.
Similarly, Margot (Reese Witherspoon – The Morning Show) has to organise the wedding venue for her sister, Neve (Meredith Hagner, who I mistook for the entire running duration of the film as being Kate Hudson), to her husband-to-be Dixon (Jimmy Tatro – Theater Camp), but once they head off into the sunset, then after they’ve been ‘besties’ all their life, and she’ll now be on her own, even before watching this, I went down the bookies and put my entire house and contents down on a sure bet that potentially-mismatched couple Jim and Margot would end up together, since without the other in they’re lives, will they think they still have no reason to exist ?
Do I now have two houses? What do you think!
However, all that’s come about because an inadvertent double-booking at the island hotel, so they have to share the venue, which even comes with a shared bathroom!
You’re Cordially Invited has a reasonable first 30-40 minutes, but then comedies shouldn’t really run longer than 90 mins, and this one is almost two hours! Once it’s run out of story, it degnerates into both sides try to sabotage each others’ weddings, and doesn’t just jump the shark, it jumps the alligator!
Yes, somehow Ferrell’s character manages to bring one of those from the swamp into Margot’s bedroom, then has extreme difficulty getting rid of it… Erm… given how unhappy this CGI monstrosity is, how did he get it in there in the first place?!
Overall, You’re Cordially Invited is not terrible, but it’s not really any good. Plus, in relation to two of the male characters, do some Americans really have such stupid first names like Colton and Dixon?!
Surprisingly, Will Ferrell is the best thing in all of this, but that’s a low bar for this film, anyway. Most of it just flails about, pointlessly.
One odd thing. Although Will’s a widower, if Jenni is wholly Indian, what was his late wife’s ethnicity? That’s never covered, as surely, she’d be halfway inbetween white and her mother. Her boyfriend is Latino (or is it LatinX, these days?). Plus, following what made Sonic The Hedgehog 2 go on way too long, as well as the forthcoming Snow White with a Latina lead, “who’s face was white as snow”… erm… wanting to get married, it all feels like lately in Hollywood, it’s a nice day for a woke wedding!
And why does a crap comedy need SIX producers? Seeing the two leads on there just shouts of them having a financial interest in the production, so they got stuck on the payroll.
Despite the main part of the film ending with “The End”, it does carry on for a bit…
You’re Cordially Invited is on Prime Video now. It’s not yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 109 minutes
Release date: January 30th 2025
Studio: Amazon Prime Video
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 (Anamorphic Hawk Scope)
Rating: 4/10
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Lauren Neustadter, Nicholas Stoller, Conor Welch, Reese Witherspoon
Screenplay: Nicholas Stoller
Cast:
Jim: Will Ferrell
Margot: Reese Witherspoon
Jenni: Geraldine Viswanathan
Neve: Meredith Hagner
Dixon: Jimmy Tatro
Oliver: Stony Blyden
Gwyneth: Leanne Morgan
Colton: Rory Scovel
Heather: Keyla Monterroso Mejia
Kelly: Ramona Young
Leslie: Jack McBrayer
Captain Barry: Fortune Feimster
Flora: Celia Weston
Scarlett: Martha Bird Knighton
Himself: Bobby Moynihan
Himself: Peyton Manning
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.