You’re Cordially Invited Parent Guide
Tonally incoherent and painfully unfunny, this film is a miss.
Parent Movie Review
Widower Jim (Will Ferrell) is a devoted father to his daughter, Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan), so when she announces her engagement, he immediately books her dream wedding spot, the island hotel where he married her mom many years ago. Meanwhile, busy TV executive Margot (Reese Witherspoon) decides to take on wedding planning for her sister and books the same venue on the same day, thanks to a clerical error. When the wedding day arrives, both parties descend on the tiny hotel and neither wants to give up their perfect weekend for the other. As tensions rise, Jim and Margot find themselves battling to ensure their respective brides get the wedding of their dreams, no matter the cost to the other.
If you watched the trailer for this film, you probably expect it to be a zany romp with constant shenanigans and maybe some laughs. That’s what it should have been. Instead, the “comedy” is constantly interrupted by failed attempts at emotional depth, leading to a confused tone and major pacing issues. The movie isn’t funny, but its attempts at comedy prevent it from hitting the emotional beats aimed for by the more serious parts of the script. The comedy and drama cancel each other out, so the end just ends up being a neutral bowl of nothing.
There are a lot of ways this film could have worked, such as having some jokes. People will forgive a lot if they’re laughing, but I didn’t laugh once. The two leads also have zero chemistry, which makes their shoe-horned in romance all the more exasperating. It’s not that Ferrell and Witherspoon do a bad job individually; they just don’t bounce off each other like they should for this premise to work. It’s a shame because the rest of the cast is fantastic.
I do not recommend this movie primarily because it is unbelievably boring. I felt like watching it took my entire day, even though objectively it was about an hour and forty minutes. Time moves differently when you’re stuck in a bad movie. I also do not recommend this movie based on the high amounts of negative content, notably the near constant swearing and social drinking. I like comedies, I like rom-coms, and I like serious character explorations, but this film’s attempt to be all of those things turns it into something that I do not like: a slog.
Directed by Nicholas Stoller. Starring Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon, Geraldine Viswanathan. Running time: 109 minutes. Theatrical release January 30, 2025. Updated February 1, 2025Watch the trailer for You’re Cordially Invited
You’re Cordially Invited
Rating & Content Info
Why is You’re Cordially Invited rated R? You’re Cordially Invited is rated R by the MPAA for language throughout and some sexual references.
Violence: A man cuts his hand on broken glass; blood is shown. A woman is accidentally hit in the face and gets a black eye. A woman is bitten by a crocodile.
Sexual Content: There are some sexual discussions and references. A man is an exotic dancer, which is often referenced. He does a dance routine during a mid-credits scene where he strips to his underwear.
Profanity: The script contains approximately three dozen sexual expletives, 52 mild and moderate profanities and 33 terms of deity.
Alcohol / Drug Use: Adults drink alcohol at social events. A man vapes. A woman is shown as drunk.
Page last updated February 1, 2025
You’re Cordially Invited Parents' Guide
Why are Jim and Margot so obsessed with having the perfect wedding for their loved ones? How do those motivations affect their relationships?
Home Video
Related home video titles:
Better options for wedding movies include Father of the Bride (and its 2022 HBO remake), My Best Friend’s Wedding, Wedding Season, What’s Love Got to Do With It?, Bride & Prejudice, Mother of the Bride, Runaway Bride, All My Life, and Best Man in Grass Creek.