When two weddings are double-booked at the same venue, the father of one bride and the sister of the other bride try to preserve the wedding weekend.
Chuck says:
Multi-tasking has become, some would say, necessary, to function in our fragmented, media driven world. I would argue that anytime the television is on in most American households, viewers are glancing at their phones more than whatever might be on the bigger screen in front of them. As a result, in this environment, movies have become a kind of white noise with visuals. Since the creation of cinema, there’ve been countless films that merit nothing more than the occasional glance, B-movies made to distract and intermittently engage. Technology and our crumbling attention spans have contributed to them finally being taken in as they should be.
Nicholas Stoller’s “You’re Cordially Invited” is perfectly suited for this type of viewing. Is it a bad movie? No, not really. Is it a good movie? I wouldn’t say that. As the kids these days would say, “It’s mid.” That being said, I wouldn’t call it a “timewaster” but rather a “time-filler.” It’s a small distinction but it needs to be made.
Will Ferrell is in dad-mode as Jim, a single father whose whole life revolves around his daughter, Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan). Only seven years old when her mother died, she and her father have a special relationship, their bond unshakeable. That is, until she comes home from college, engaged to her long-time boyfriend Oliver (Stony Blyden). This knocks Jim back on his heels, wondering how he’ll fill the void her leaving will create. However, he recovers and decides to give Jenni the wedding of her dreams at the posh Palmetto Inn, where he and her mother were married.
Meanwhile, type-A personality, Margot (Reese Witherspoon) has launched a similar plan. Her younger sister Neve (Meredith Hagner) has decided to take the plunge, and she’s decided to take charge. As a producer of reality television, this role comes naturally to her and she decides to throw the wedding to end all weddings at, of all places, the Palmetto Inn.
Wouldn’t you know it, an untimely death and a clerical error book both parties on the same weekend. Complications ensue when Jim and Margot both show up, their parties in tow, at the same time.
As premises go, this isn’t bad. Classic screwball comedies have been built on less and the commitment of the two leads keeps us engaged. Yet, they can’t overcome the sense of desperation that creeps into Stoller’s script, the gags starting strong, each subsequent one becoming more nonsensical.
Before it digresses to the point when Jim is wrestling an alligator in Margot’s room, there are some rather clever moments. Margot’s passive aggressive, judgmental family proves to be fertile ground for funny quips and awkward moments. One particularly inspired bit revolves around one of them having their home featured in the magazine “Gardens and Guns,” while the womanizing pastor they’ve hired proves amusing as well. Not to be out done, the other family provides its share of cringe-worthy moments, chief among them a duet between Jim and Jenni of “Islands in the Stream,” the father and daughter blissfully unaware of the inappropriate nature of their song choice.
However, once we hit the one-hour mark, the number of jokes that land decreases significantly. For every bit that works (Jim talking about having a threesome with two widows is a riot), there are two or three that don’t. Moments of inspiration give way to prolonged sequences of slapstick that fall flat. Then again, if I’m being honest, there may be some uproarious moments that I missed. My Facebook page was pretty active the night “Cordially” was playing in the background.
2 1/2 Stars
