You’re Cordially Invited… to hilarity

Since it’s “wedding season” all over again, it seems only appropriate to detail last year’s summer blockbuster You’re Cordially Invited. Well, it was actually released on January, but no matter. It feels like a Spring/Summer flick, starring Will Farrell and Reese Witherspoon.

Like the wacky movies both have been known for over the years, this is a quintessential comedy of errors.

You see, Farrell’s character, Jim, learns that his daughter is engaged around the same time that Witherspoon’s character, Margot, learns the same of her sister.

Despite never meeting before and living in different states now, they both grew up going to a quaint vacation spot called Palmetto Island every summer.

So, naturally, they both want to book the place for their family’s wedding. The island can only accommodate one wedding per weekend, however, given limited space all around.

Tim calls for his daughter first and reaches the inn manager’s mother. She lets him know that June 5th is available. He tells her to book it, which she attempts to do.

They still use a physical book, however, and the pen she was trying to use is out of ink. As she’s reaching over for another one, she has a medical emergency and falls to the ground instead.

She’s rushed away to the hospital, but unfortunately doesn’t make it.

A day or two later, Margo calls and speaks with the inn manager himself (played by Jack McBrayer from 30-Rock fame). Unable to see the pen indentations from his mother, he tells her June 5th is still free.

Needless to say, both families kick off the wedding planning.

Tim’s daughter Jenni is about 25 years old and is marrying a DJ. So he (as the father) becomes more and more annoyed with their unconventional ideas, like forgoing him walking her down the aisle.

He compromises a lot, but has to draw the line at marijuana products for party favors.

Meanwhile, Margo is methodically pulling out all the stops for her sister, Neve, and the storybook wedding she always wanted. Being a show runner in L.A., Margo is perfect for this.

She plans for everything. Except of course what she couldn’t anticipate: a whole other family arriving on the island to conduct their own wedding.

Now, before you ask how this could possibly go so far and neither party noticed… well, as we find out a bit later, Jenni’s friend Heather, who’s her planner, has “phone call anxiety.” So, to Tim’s chagrin, she didn’t check their reservation.

So… either the resort is also too quaint to use email or, more likely, she just gave up when there wasn’t a “Contact Us” form on the website. You’d think Tim would have done something to confirm… but maybe he was (ironically) showing that he trusts her friends.

Despite Margo being visible in the book and having a credit card imprint, Tim is able to prove his daughter’s wedding was booked first by rubbing pencil over the previously invisible pen marks. That’s when they all know the weekend was double-booked.

So, despite consternation on both sides, they agree to split the venue. They hammer out the terms quickly, over the innkeeper’s objection that there’s not enough space for everyone. To which Tim says most of his daughter’s guests are free spirits anyway, so can sleep outside.

To top off the absurdity, Tim offers to split the sunset time on the dock… with his daughter taking the first half.

Dumbfounded, the innkeeper asks, “Is timing the sunset even a thing?”

Of course, not everything goes so smoothly, though. Jenni abd her fiancé’s “garden party” is rained out the next day, forcing everyone inside. This crowds the reception area, where the “legitimate wedding party” was having a much quieter affair. So much for that!

A lot more antics ensue as the tension reaches a boiling point between Tim and Margo. So much so they start plotting against each other, and the results are so disastrous that Neve eventually blames her sister (not Tim) for ruining her wedding.

So Margo has to reflect upon herself and, really, her growing feelings for Tim. And Tim does the same, worried that he failed her daughter with all of this.

Jenni gets everything she wants for her wedding, though. And she forgives her father (and Margot). For fairness, though, everyone pulls together to give Neve and her fiancé their own wedding after.

Tim and Margo end up together… but decide it’s best to elope!

So, it’s not earth-shattering, or Oscar-worthy, but just a nice slap-stick romantic comedy to relax to and have a good time. That’s just as good to me.