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YOU'RE CORDIALLY INVITED

Starring: Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon, Geraldine Viswanathan, Meredith Hagner, Jimmy Tatro, Stony Blyden, Leanne Morgan, Rory Scovel, Jacki McBrayer, and Celia Weston
Director: Nicholas Stoller

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NICK

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Considering it stars Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon, You're Cordially Invited is straight out of the 2000s. Evoking the memory of films such as Bride Wars, I can't say it adds anything to the comedy battleground genre, staying on par with many of the other entries. There are some decisions late in the film that hurt my overall rating, but for the majority of it, it's an average film. Inoffensive, yet likely to be forgotten once the year turns over. What shouldn’t be forgotten, however, is Geraldine Viswanathan. She’s enjoyable here, and it’s time we start seeing more of her.

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QUENTIN

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There are a few moments in You’re Cordially Invited when it seems like writer-director Nicholas Stoller wanted to let Will Ferrell cook in his trademark improvisational style, but they’re buried under so many lazily unfunny jokes, you wonder why they cast Ferrell at all. Alongside that, Invited has one of the laziest R-ratings I’ve ever seen, amounting to nothing more than a couple shoehorned-in F-bombs. Frankly, this dated movie feels like Stoller either self-sabotaged or the studio had too heavy a hand in the final cut because there are shadows of glimpses of a comedy that could have been entertaining. As is, though? RSVP No.

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PRESTON

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I entered You’re Cordially Invited with extremely low expectations, and should you choose to do the same, there is an outside chance that you may consider it…not half-bad. I even, surprisingly, avoided the all-too-familiar moment when I thought that I was hating what I was watching. It is ridiculous and sweet, and sometimes funny, and sometimes cringe. But for me, it was a perfectly acceptable way to pass time on a day I was feeling a little poopy. Besides low expectations, an appreciation of Will Ferrell’s style of comedy is also a prerequisite, but that’s too easy.

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AMARÚ

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I’m happy to say that You’re Cordially Invited is genuinely heartfelt, hilarious, and more than your run-of-the-mill romantic comedy. Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon go toe-to-toe with ridiculous (but not overdone) antics and insightful arcs that’ll make you look at your own familial relationships more closely, but it’s Leanne Morgan and Rory Scovel who threaten to steal the entire movie. Writer-director Nicholas Stoller gives them the biggest laughs while also delivering an honest examination on how people’s differing beliefs can inhibit their ability to listen and empathize. He had no right creating something this good with this premise, but it works. Bravo.

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ADRIANO

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You're Cordially Invited has an easy concept, a proven comedic director in Nicholas Stoller, and two great lead performers, one of whom is a comedy legend… so why did it fall so flat? It just comes down to it not being very funny. It has some heart, some chuckle-worthy moments, and there's nothing insincere about it, but Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon are sadly not amazing here. Ferrell, in particular, feels weirdly neutered (Jimmy Tatro and Keyla Monterroso Mejia are innocent, though). For a streaming movie, it's simple enough; just be aware you may not laugh as much as you'd hope.

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MORE REVIEWS TO COME!

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