Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Marvel's Spider-Man Secret Lair promotional image

    Get a Look At the Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man Superdrop

    09/08/2025
    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions gameplay still

    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions Is All About Adventure (with Friends)

    09/08/2025
    Chord in Persona 5 The Phantom X

    Now Is The Perfect Time To Jump Back In ‘Persona 5: The Phantom X’

    09/05/2025
    Cosmic Spider-Man card details

    [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

    09/02/2025
    Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

    EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

    09/01/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ‘You’re Cordially Invited’ Is Fun Where It Counts

REVIEW: ‘You’re Cordially Invited’ Is Fun Where It Counts

Jason FlattBy Jason Flatt01/28/20254 Mins ReadUpdated:04/09/2025
You're Cordially Invited
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Amazon/MGM’s You’re Cordially Invited by writer and director Nicholas Stoller is fun where it counts. It’s by no means a groundbreaking rom-com. It’s even frustrating at times. But Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon, and company bring out plenty of laughs in this take on the wedding gone wrong.

Ferrell plays Jim, a single father to Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan), who is his entire world. They have a slightly sophomoric relationship, but it’s touching at the end of the day. Only when Jenni comes home to announce she’s engaged does it set off a litany of red flags for Jim. He says they’re too young, he’s upset it means that she’s getting older and might move away, and he doesn’t exactly love her immature fiance, Oliver (Stony Blyden). Nonetheless, Jim books them a wedding for the following summer at the same island inn where he married his late wife.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Meanwhile, Witherspoon plays Margot, a Hollywood producer whose younger sister, Neve (Meredith Hagner), is also recently engaged. Margot is somewhat estranged from the rest of their family, but Neve insists that everyone must be invited. Conceding, Margot books Neve and her fiance Dixon (Jimmy Tatro) a wedding for the following summer at the inn on the island where the two of them spend summer with their grandmother as a child. Of course, this is the same inn as Jenni and Oliver’s wedding. And, of course, they accidentally got booked for the same weekend.

The huge cast of You’re Cordially Invited is a huge part of its success.

You're Cordially Invited

Ferrell, in particular, is on fire in You’re Cordially Invited. He plays the happy medium between a kind and loving father and an absolute lunatic hellbent on revenge against Margot for ruining his baby’s big day. Witherspoon, on the other hand, is fine. She feels like she’s phoning in a number of scenes, but her moments with Ferrell are always bright spots. It’s also fun watching her interact with her extended family.

The casting for You’re Cordially Invited is exceptional. This is a huge ensemble movie. On Ferrell’s side of the affair, you have Jim, Jenni, and Oliver, as well as several bridesmaids led by Heather (Keyla Monterroso Mejia), who is admittedly the most frustrating casting choice, simply because she is typecast as “the annoying Gen Z girl” and is stuck in that obnoxious role the whole time. It’s a bummer, given the range she’s capable of. Viswanathan doesn’t get as much to work with here as she deserves either, especially given it’s her character’s wedding. But she does pretty well with what she has.

But on Witherspoon’s side of the movie, there’s not only Margot, Neve, and Dixon; there’s also her mother Flora (Celia Weston), siblings Colton (Rory Scovel) and Gwyneth (Leanne Morgan), all of their extended family including a grandfather who hilariously doesn’t speak a word the entire movie, and Margot’s assistant, Davey (Vinny Thomas). Plus, there’s the owner of the inn, Leslie (Jack McBrayer), who gets caught in the middle of everything, a few other smaller characters, and a number of cameos, including a truly shocking one during the wedding.

Thanks to this giant cast, there’s more than just a few laughs to be had. There are family dynamics that add drama and emotion. All of it starts out as expected; Jim and Jinni are too close, and her wedding is tearing Jim’s heart apart, while Margot is overbearing to Neve because she’s the only family Margot likes. The twists and turns of these relationships are easy to predict, but the execution is always unexpected and often genuinely emotional.

Horrendous editing nearly ruins the movie.

Your'e Cordially Invited

Unfortunately, horrendous editing ruins many of Witherspoon’s scenes. In key, emotional scenes, she is clearly not in the same room as the person she’s talking to. Abysmal ADR, bad wigs, the backs of people’s heads, and sharp back-and-forth cuts across the same room make some scenes truly unbearable to watch, especially considering the whole movie isn’t edited this way, only some scenes. It’s fair enough if they couldn’t get a cast this large to stay on set for the entire production, but it’s a big energy drain when key characters can’t properly interact.

It’s also a huge drain on the comedy when the movie repeatedly makes jokes about capitalism. Yes, capitalism is a scourge on our planet and society, but the company that produced this movie is one of the single greatest culprits of capitalism and all of its associated woes. Even if the jokes weren’t written to feel tongue in cheek, the context they’re being told in forces them out that way.

Fortunately, You’re Cordially Invited is ultimately more heartfelt than anything. Its couple of joke flops and bad editing do it harm, but the movie is still mostly funny and even occasionally sweet.

You’re Cordially Invited is streaming now, exclusively on Prime Video.

You're Cordially Invited
  • 6.5/10
    Rating - 6.5/10
6.5/10

TL;DR

Fortunately, You’re Cordially Invited is ultimately more heartfelt than anything. Its couple of joke flops and bad editing do it harm, but the movie is still mostly funny and even occasionally sweet.

  • Watch Now on Prime Video with Our Affiliate Link

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleEnshrouded Celebrates First Year Anniversary With New Updates & More
Next Article REVIEW: ‘The Wedding Banquet’ Proves That Remakes Can Become New Classics
Jason Flatt
  • X (Twitter)

Jason is the Sr. Editor at But Why Tho? and producer of the But Why Tho? Podcast. He's usually writing about foreign films, Jewish media, and summer camp.

Related Posts

The Long Walk (2025) film review promotional image
9.5

REVIEW: ‘The Long Walk’ Is The Most Heartfelt And Heartbreaking Stephen King Adaptation

09/11/2025
Natasha O’Keeffe in Whitetail
6.5

TIFF 2025: ‘Whitetail’ Is An Intimate View Of A Woman Stuck In Time

09/10/2025
Love Brooklyn
6.0

REVIEW: ‘Love, Brooklyn’ Rests on Pretty

09/10/2025
Park Jeong-min in The Ugly
7.0

TIFF 2025: ‘The Ugly’ Is A Harsh Exercise In Self-Reflection

09/09/2025
No Other Choice
9.0

TIFF 2025: ‘No Other Choice’ Delivers a Bleak Vision of Capitalism

09/09/2025
Molly Lewis in Whistle
8.0

TIFF 2025: ‘Whistle’ Is A Breath Of Fresh Air

09/07/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
The Long Walk (2025) film review promotional image
9.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘The Long Walk’ Is The Most Heartfelt And Heartbreaking Stephen King Adaptation

By Kate Sánchez09/11/2025Updated:09/11/2025

The Long Walk is a brutal watch. Equally heartfelt and heartbreaking, it’s one of the best adaptations of Stephen King’s work.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

EA Sports FC Icons Match promotional image from Nexon News

2025 Icons Match Returns With Football Legends Bridging The Pitch And Video Games

By Kate Sánchez09/03/2025Updated:09/03/2025

NEXON has announced the return of the ‘2025 Icons Match,’ a live event that brings a full roster of legendary players to the pitch.

Gojo Jujutsu Kaisen - But Why Tho (2) Features

Everything To Know About Satoru Gojo

By Kate Sánchez09/07/2023Updated:02/16/2025

Satoru Gojo is the heart of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 — now, heading into Cour 2, here is everything you need to know about the character.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here