Atlanta resident widower Jim Caldwell (Will Ferrell) is a girl dad to recent college grad Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan). LA reality showrunner and big sister Margot Buckley (Reese Witherspoon) would do anything for her little sister Neve (Meredith Hagner), including return home to spend time with their family. Both are determined to plan the best wedding for the ones that they love the most, but when they discover that they are double booked at the same venue, Palmetto House, a resort that holds special memories for both families, but can only accommodate one, they butt heads even as they try to compromise. Will they be able to make it work or will it end in disaster? “You’re Cordially Invited” (2025) is a laugh out loud, cute comedy.
Just when Ferrell’s schtick seems to verge on losing its charm, he shows that he still has it as a devoted, single dad. Jim is a man who wants to be Mister Rogers but gets triggered into becoming the most rage filled, ruthless, mean-spirited person when his little girl is involved. Viswanathan, who is best known as the protagonist in “Drive-Away Dolls” (2024), has great chemistry with Ferrell and is believable as his daughter who knows that she needs to stop letting him manipulate her, but also adores being spoiled as daddy’s little girl. Jenni’s fiancé, Oliver (Stony Blyden), is aware of how Jim could turn into a nightmare for him and sees the red flags but is willing to move ahead.
In contrast, Margot is thrilled that Dixon (Jimmy Tatro) will be her future brother-in-law, but not looking forward to seeing her judgmental, passive aggressive family who does not relate to Margot’s lifestyle as a single woman executive. She enlists the silently resentful producer Davey (Vinny Thomas) to handle the logistics. They do everything by the book for a perfect weekend. Without the scheduling snafu, she would have to give her undivided attention to her disapproving mother, Flora (Celia Weston), her stuffy brother Colton (Rory Scovel) and her complaining, wannabe wonton sister Gwyneth (Leanne Morgan).
“You’re Cordially Invited” hinges on the contrast between the two families. The Caldwell party is filled with young adults, including Keyla Monterroso Mejia as Heather, the bridesmaid, a very different character from the exploitive, dismissive loan officer that she played in “One of Them Days” (2025). That wedding party is loud, fun, diverse and warm. The Buckley family is more reserved, homogenous, snooty and distant. One moment felt incisive and fair yet also alarming as it poked at Margot’s honesty as wounding, but also if taken to its extreme, could function to chide the women who come home and confront their family about regressive politics at Thanksgiving dinner, especially given Margot referencing racism out of the blue when no one exhibits it even implicitly. Jim and his party loosen them up, and they give him a wakeup call over how he needs to adjust his parenting style. Of course, there are plenty of bumps along the way otherwise it would not be a comedy.
It is a shame that “You’re Cordially Invited” will not have a theatrical run. It is a genuinely funny movie and hopefully the humor will be just as side splitting at home alone as it was in the theater with an audience. While Ferrell is the lead jokester, it is a great ensemble cast with very few missteps. “30 Rock” Jack McBrayer as Leslie, the venue’s proprietor, delivers one of his trademark performances. There are some hilarious cameos from Bobby Moynihan, Peyton Manning, Wyatt Russell and the Jonas Brother who can hopefully keep a woman. Hagner, who could be a Kate Hudson doppelganger, was the only one who did not tickle the funny bone, but it may not be her fault. It could be the character or direction because this little sister is described as an angel, but at the venue, she tended to be the most annoying character and may be a runner up to Nessa in “Wicked” (2024).
“You’re Cordially Invited” is probably intended to be a rom com, but the rom part gets tacked on to the end like an obligatory afterthought. While Ferrell is not an ogre by any definition of the word, height does not equal attractive, and when it comes to the still stunning Witherspoon, he is out of his league. Looks are not everything, and people can be attracted to each other for a multitude of reasons, but it is just not credible.
It is sort of weird that movies perpetuate the idea that elevated aggression leads to attraction instead of permanently burned bridges. Are we teaching people to ignore red flags? “You’re Cordially Invited” is only part of a pattern and not the most egregious example because the conflict is part of the rom com trope that people will end up together if they start off as enemies. Can we just stop that harmful propaganda. If people are mean to you, run away from them. It is only a movie but without the disclaimer advising the audience not to try it at home, a lot of people buy the image of true love hurting.
The two did not have to become love interests. It could be a cute movie where they end up closer with their loved ones, and they make it an annual tradition to vacation with each other. The movie works with or without the romance and probably would have improved if it trimmed that fat. As a a result, the conflict can feel contrived, exaggerated and over the top as opposed to organic, but it is fine. Leslie should get a lawyer if they do not pay the bill. There was a strange afterthought detail added at the denouement that felt as if money can cover a multitude of sins or the casual line was an embedded commercial—think airline reference.
Writer and director Nicholas Stoller should otherwise be proud of himself for making a movie that will have broad appeal without sticking too close to the formula. Stoller uses formal title cards like a wedding table to structure “You’re Cordially Invited” once the wedding plans get executed. It is a nice quick visual signifier to evoke the formality of such a traditional ceremony, which sets up the ensuing hijinks for a bigger punchline. It is innately ridiculous that regardless of a family’s personality type, there is this idea of confirming to certain rituals in a wedding so even without the reservation issues, anyone would fall short. The film encourages a looser framework that hues to individuality. It is a nice lesson that hopefully does not get lost in the laughs.
“You’re Cordially Invited” also has the time to make fun of TikTok, Christian culture and FOX reality shows like “The Masked Singer.” Some lines make the film feel as if it was made the day of viewing, which is either a happy accident or prophetic. There is an incisive wit about how Stoller depicts quarterlife crisis without feeling as if he is punching down. He sympathizes with all his characters, and no one is villainized for long.
“You’re Cordially Invited” is the kind of movie that you watch when you want to turn off your brain, have a few laughs and forget the world. It is also free and streaming if you have Prime Video so in the worst-case scenario, the entry cost of effort and price is low, not including the moral cost of still having a Prime membership as oligarchy tightens its grip on our republic’s neck. Hey, I’m guilty too.
