There was a time when Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon starring in a rom-com would be a major release, a film you could pretty well set your watch to, as it were, counting on it to make $100 million on name recognition alone. But these days? No one has a clue what a rom-com is worth anymore.
Sometimes, it could be over $200 million, like Anyone But You. But sometimes they’re streaming releases, like The Idea of You. And sometimes they’re flops, like Fly Me to the Moon, which also starred two big Movie Stars, Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum. It might be because of that last film that Amazon MGM is unwilling to risk a similar fate and is relegating You’re Cordially Invited, an R-rated romantic comedy-drama starring Ferrell and Witherspoon to Prime Video next month.
Given the lack of an actual, mass market romantic movie due next February, I am a little bit shocked that You’re Cordially Invited is doomed to the streaming content firehose, especially because it looks super cute. The trailer dropped yesterday, introducing an ensemble full of great comedic actors, from Ferrell, obviously, to Geraldine Viswanathan, Rory Scovel, Meredith Hagner, Leanne Morgan, Jimmy Tatro, and Jack McBrayer. The film also stars once and future rom-com queen Reese Witherspoon, and is written and directed by Nicholas Stoller, the man behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Neighbors, and Bros. The pedigree on this film alone should earn it a theatrical release, but alas.
The film is about two families who double book a hotel for a wedding weekend. Will Ferrell stars as Geraldine Viswanathan’s father, Reese Witherspoon stars as Meredith Hagner’s older sister. They put themselves in charge of planning their loved ones’ weddings, and the result is chaos at the hotel. I am assuming that Ferrell and Witherspoon’s characters will fall in love along the way, too, or else what’s the point of setting up a father of the bride/sister of the bride competitive situation? You’re Cordially Invited looks really funny, it has a helluva cast, and again, there is NO competition for a rom-com next February. Sticking it on streaming seems like a big mistake. Big. Huge.
