Are you with the bride or the groom? Hold on, scratch that. Are you with or ?
a new comedy directed by Nicholas Stoller, brings together two stars whose movie worlds are nearly as divided as wedding guests on separate sides of the aisle. Ferrell is most closely associated with broad comedies and Witherspoon the more romantic variety. And while both have expanded beyond their wheelhouses, they are each A-list refugees from movie genres 91裸聊视频� laugh-out-loud comedies, rom-coms 91裸聊视频� that have largely faded from theaters in recent years.
91裸聊视频淵ou91裸聊视频檙e Cordially Invited,91裸聊视频� which debuts Thursday on Prime Video, unites these two once-ubiquitous box-office forces in a streaming-only wedding comedy that cross-pollinates 91裸聊视频淔ather of the Bride91裸聊视频� with 91裸聊视频淲edding Crashers.91裸聊视频� The combination works well enough, though it91裸聊视频檇 be fairer to deem 91裸聊视频淵ou91裸聊视频檙e Cordially Invited91裸聊视频� a funnier-than-average wedding movie than it would be a top-grade Ferrell comedy.
It91裸聊视频檚 been two decades since, in 91裸聊视频淲edding Crashers,91裸聊视频� Ferrell so gently called to his mother, 91裸聊视频淗ey, Mom! Can we get some meatloaf!91裸聊视频� But a whole era has passed. 91裸聊视频淵ou91裸聊视频檙e Cordially Invited91裸聊视频� is an attempt to rekindle some of the spirit of those early 91裸聊视频�00s comedies while growing it up a little, and roping in a new generation of funny people. Here, Ferrell plays the overly doting father to Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan). He91裸聊视频檚 a widower whose happiness rests to an unsound degree on his daughter. Jim steams her clothes and styles her hair. He91裸聊视频檚 not crashing the wedding this time; he91裸聊视频檚 baking the cake.
When Jenni returns home with a ring on her finger and her now-fianc茅 (Stony Blyden) in tow, Jim experiences the happy news more like a nightmare. Still, he gathers himself together and books a destination wedding on the small Georgia island where he and his wife were married.
Meanwhile, we91裸聊视频檙e introduced to Margot (Witherspoon) a high-powered reality TV executive in Los Angeles whose younger sister (Meredith Hagner) is getting married to her boyfriend (Jimmy Tatro). Her abiding issue is a disconnect with her Atlanta-era family and their disapproving mother (Celia Weston), a fissure that the wedding, which Margot opts to plan herself, quickly exacerbates.
When, a year later, these two groups arrive on the island, Jim and Margot eye each other suspiciously right up until they each attempt to check in at the same time. Thanks to the untimely death of the inn91裸聊视频檚 longtime owner, the place has been double-booked for the weekend 91裸聊视频� a particularly awkward situation given the island can only accommodate one wedding at a time. The supporting roles throughout 91裸聊视频淵ou91裸聊视频檙e Cordially Invited91裸聊视频� are well cast, including the inn91裸聊视频檚 new, very apologetic manager, played by
After some hesitation, Margot and Jim resolve to share the venue. This, of course, is the not particularly subtle concept of 91裸聊视频淵ou91裸聊视频檙e Cordially Invited.91裸聊视频� The arrangement is momentarily copacetic but gradually devolves into an all-out war between Margot and Jim, while the two very different wedding parties 91裸聊视频� one a multicultural DJ-ing crew, the other longtime Southerners 91裸聊视频� mingle congenially.
The main deficiency of 91裸聊视频淵ou91裸聊视频檙e Cordially Invited,91裸聊视频� also scripted by Stoller (91裸聊视频淣eighbors,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淔orgetting Sarah Marshall91裸聊视频�), is that everything about it proceeds from its concept. The characters feel engineered to suit it, and everything in its plot is orchestrated to serve the rival wedding feud. Nothing in how things evolve will surprise you or feel particularly organic. For a not especially long movie, 91裸聊视频淵ou91裸聊视频檙e Cordially Invited91裸聊视频� drags, a byproduct of its artificial conception. This is the kind of film where the post-credits sing-along feels forced.
That said, there91裸聊视频檚 a wide array of comic talent throughout Stoller91裸聊视频檚 film that enlivens it. That includes Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Rory Scovel, Leanne Morgan and even, briefly, This should be a showcase for Viswanathan, the talented star of 91裸聊视频淏lockers91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淏ad Education,91裸聊视频� but her character, while primary, doesn91裸聊视频檛 give her much to work with beyond shedding an overly dependent dad. The highlight of the cast, really, is Weston, who is so good as a hard-to-impress matriarch that you could just as easily drop her into a family drama.
Ferrell, who has made unadjusted fathers a specialty since finds more ways to make Jim a compelling comic character than most anyone could. Having the chance to see him in a big studio comedy has gotten so foolishly infrequent that 91裸聊视频淵ou91裸聊视频檙e Cordially Invited91裸聊视频� is worth RSVP91裸聊视频檌ng to for that too-rare opportunity, in itself.
Somewhat surprisingly, 91裸聊视频淵ou91裸聊视频檙e Cordially Invited91裸聊视频� doesn91裸聊视频檛 culminate in a big comic set piece but puts much 91裸聊视频� maybe too much 91裸聊视频� of its energy into talking through Jim and Margot91裸聊视频檚 hang-ups. There91裸聊视频檚 a clever, self-aware theme of honesty: too little of it in Jim and Jenni91裸聊视频檚 performative dynamic, and too much of it in Margot91裸聊视频檚 cynical family relationships. That all of this hangs together is a testament, most of all, to Witherspoon deftness as a performer. In a movie in which Ferrell wrestles an alligator and cameos (winningly) as a singing pastor, you don91裸聊视频檛 doubt Witherspoon for a moment.
91裸聊视频淵ou91裸聊视频檙e Cordially Invited,91裸聊视频� an Amazon MGM Studios release is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for 91裸聊视频渓anguage throughout and some sexual references.91裸聊视频� Running time: 109 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
