Thursday, 6 February 2025

VOD: You're Cordially Invited (dir: Nicholas Stoller, 2025)

"Well, I've got this situation under control!"
"Doesn't seem like it..."

In this mature family comedy that plays in a universe that only exists in the movies, single parent Will Ferrell books an exclusive island for his daughter's wedding, but an unexpected (fatal) error means that Reese Witherspoon double-books the venue with her younger sister's nuptials and comedy chaos ensues.  As well as the escalating wedding complications, the culture clash of the uptight/raucous families plus various generational clashes all generate plenty of material as the film dutifully grinds through all the expected wedding-comedy structural gears, including a duet that will be familiar to fans of Gavin and Stacey.  The script is snappy and surprisingly sweary (including a magnificent c-bomb late in the day), with Ferrell and Witherspoon trading barbed insults and rapid-fire showdowns with glee.  Indeed, Witherspoon delivers her usual very effective and polished professional performance well, and in spite of occasionally straying into his usual improv tics, Ferrell creates a surprisingly sympathetic portrayal of the father of the bride, with a significantly strong supporting cast overall.  The result is a pleasant if familiar comedy that breezes by quite entertainingly, and it is certainly one of the more bearable examples of the genre.
 

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