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 B次元官网网址� laugh-out-loud comedies, rom-coms B次元官网网址� that have largely faded from theaters in recent years.
B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e Cordially Invited,B次元官网网址� which debuts Thursday on Prime B次元官网网址, unites these two once-ubiquitous box-office forces in a streaming-only wedding comedy that cross-pollinates B次元官网网址淔ather of the BrideB次元官网网址� with B次元官网网址淲edding Crashers.B次元官网网址� The combination works well enough, though itB次元官网网址檇 be fairer to deem B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e Cordially InvitedB次元官网网址� a funnier-than-average wedding movie than it would be a top-grade Ferrell comedy.
ItB次元官网网址檚 been two decades since, in B次元官网网址淲edding Crashers,B次元官网网址� Ferrell so gently called to his mother, B次元官网网址淗ey, Mom! Can we get some meatloaf!B次元官网网址� But a whole era has passed. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e Cordially InvitedB次元官网网址� is an attempt to rekindle some of the spirit of those early B次元官网网址�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). HeB次元官网网址檚 a widower whose happiness rests to an unsound degree on his daughter. Jim steams her clothes and styles her hair. HeB次元官网网址檚 not crashing the wedding this time; heB次元官网网址檚 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, weB次元官网网址檙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 innB次元官网网址檚 longtime owner, the place has been double-booked for the weekend B次元官网网址� a particularly awkward situation given the island can only accommodate one wedding at a time. The supporting roles throughout B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e Cordially InvitedB次元官网网址� are well cast, including the innB次元官网网址檚 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 B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e Cordially Invited.B次元官网网址� The arrangement is momentarily copacetic but gradually devolves into an all-out war between Margot and Jim, while the two very different wedding parties B次元官网网址� one a multicultural DJ-ing crew, the other longtime Southerners B次元官网网址� mingle congenially.
The main deficiency of B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e Cordially Invited,B次元官网网址� also scripted by Stoller (B次元官网网址淣eighbors,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淔orgetting Sarah MarshallB次元官网网址�), 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, B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e Cordially InvitedB次元官网网址� drags, a byproduct of its artificial conception. This is the kind of film where the post-credits sing-along feels forced.
That said, thereB次元官网网址檚 a wide array of comic talent throughout StollerB次元官网网址檚 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 B次元官网网址淏lockersB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淏ad Education,B次元官网网址� but her character, while primary, doesnB次元官网网址檛 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 B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e Cordially InvitedB次元官网网址� is worth RSVPB次元官网网址檌ng to for that too-rare opportunity, in itself.
Somewhat surprisingly, B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e Cordially InvitedB次元官网网址� doesnB次元官网网址檛 culminate in a big comic set piece but puts much B次元官网网址� maybe too much B次元官网网址� of its energy into talking through Jim and MargotB次元官网网址檚 hang-ups. ThereB次元官网网址檚 a clever, self-aware theme of honesty: too little of it in Jim and JenniB次元官网网址檚 performative dynamic, and too much of it in MargotB次元官网网址檚 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 donB次元官网网址檛 doubt Witherspoon for a moment.
B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e Cordially Invited,B次元官网网址� an Amazon MGM Studios release is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for B次元官网网址渓anguage throughout and some sexual references.B次元官网网址� Running time: 109 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
