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You’re Cordially Invited

 

Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell square off in this comedy flick about a wedding-venue booking snafu that turns into all-out war

Whatever can go wrong WILL go wrong, especially during a meticulously planned, once-in-a-lifetime event. The new Prime Video original film You’re Cordially Invited tests the limits of Murphy’s Law when two wedding parties are double-booked at the same venue. Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell star as duelling wedding coordinators willing to fight dirty for their favourite family member’s perfect day.

Father-daughter duo and best friends Jim (Ferrell) and Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan, Miracle Workers) are ready to welcome Oliver (Stony Blyden, American Born Chinese), her new fiancé, to the family in a beautiful ceremony at the picturesque Palmetto House island resort on the Carolina coast.

Guests have saved the date — June 1 — and arrangements have all been made with the help of their wedding planner Heather (Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Curb Your Enthusiasm). While Jim may be apprehensive about his relationship with his daughter changing once she’s married, no amount of pre-big day jitters could prepare them for what’s to come.

You’re Cordially Invited on Prime Video. Pictured: Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon checking in at the Palmetto House Island Resort.
© 2023 Amazon Content Services LLC

A serious sisterly bond ties Margot (Witherspoon) and her younger sister, Neve (Meredith Hagner, Search Party). So when Neve surprises her big sister at work with the news of her engagement to Dixon (Jimmy Tatro, Home Economics), her joy eclipses even her need to attend to her client, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Peyton Manning (playing himself).

Margot quickly dons her event planner hat and books Neve and Dixon’s ceremony at the Palmetto House on, you guessed it, June 1. The bridal parties each spend months getting their affairs in order, the whole time not knowing the chaos that awaits them.

Wedding week has arrived and there’s about to be a showdown at the front desk of the Palmetto House. In the trailer, Jim and Margot, already seemingly at each other’s throats as they exchange dirty looks on their way to check in, receive the bad news from concierge Leslie (Jack McBrayer, 30 Rock). The small venue has double-booked the weddings and with no time to reschedule, both parties will have to share the island and the resort’s amenities.

Also starring in You’re Cordially Invited are Leanne Morgan (Sun Moon), Rory Scovel (No Good Deed), Ramona Young (Never Have I Ever) and Celia Weston (Echoes). The film was written and directed by rom-com vet Nicholas Stoller, of Forgetting Sarah Marshall fame.

Comedy legend Ferrell, who has spent three decades making us laugh since his television debut in the 21st season of Saturday Night Live, is in fine physical comedy form in You’re Cordially Invited. He goes head to head with Witherspoon, who gives her own classic Type-A comedic performance in the film, as their characters spitefully battle on behalf of the brides in a fresh take on the bridezilla trope.

Jim and Margot share a tense slow dance full of whispered threats, wrestle for control of a microphone and plot against each other’s ceremonies in the movie’s trailer. An alligator also makes an appearance at the festivities, as if the wedding party feud wasn’t enough action for one wedding night — but don’t worry, Jim’s got that uninvited guest under control.

In a recent interview with journalist Cole Haddon, Stoller — whose credits also include Neighbors, Bros and the Apple TV+ original series Platonic — touched on the human story beneath the hilarity in You’re Cordially Invited.

“It’s about a double-booked destination wedding and all the insanity ensues,” he said. “But for me, it’s really about my relationship with my kids and my parents and my siblings under many, many, many layers. I guess I would say my tone is, honest, human stories. You wouldn’t know it — I’m Jewish and from Miami and these are all Southern characters — but the emotional core is there.”

You’re Cordially Invited begins streaming Thursday, January 30, on Prime Video

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