Streaming: High -time chaos with Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon

It should be the most beautiful day of her life, but for two couples and their relatives, a wedding weekend becomes a chaos trip. US comedy star Will Ferrell (“Anchorman”) and Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon (“Walk the Line”) play the leading roles in the romantic comedy “You are warmly invited”, which starts on January 30 at the Streaming Service Prime Video.

Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon as rivals

Ferrell plays the widower and excessive father Jim, whose life only revolves around his daughter Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan). When she announces that she wants to marry, Jim books a romantic hotel on a small island called Palmetto, on which Jenni’s mother and he once said yes. Unfortunately, something goes wrong when booking.

Witherspoon plays control freak and TV producer Margot, who wants to organize the wedding for her sister Neve (Meredith Hagner), but has a difficult relationship with the rest of the family. For the wedding she books the hotel on the island of Palmetto on the same weekend as Jim.

The double booking is only noticeable when Margot and Jim and wedding companies arrive on the island. The island is actually too small for both groups, but nobody wants to leave. Soon the situation escalates in an entertaining way.

Family twist and generation conflicts

As always, Will Ferrell is delicious-for example, if the language of his barely adult daughter and her friends overwhelm him, he does not understand their social media posts or tells the young people the opinion. In real life, the 57-year-old also has little to do with a youth language and social media. “I only know what my children show me,” says Ferrell in the interview of the German Press Agency in London. “Very little.”

The situation is similar to his colleague, who demonstrated her comedic talent in “naturally blonde” at the latest. “My kids show me a video in which someone makes a sound and they lie on the ground with laughter,” says Reese Witherspoon (48). “And I’m just not checking it. It is almost embarrassing to me.”

The conflict between young and old and ordinary situations that escalate into the absurd (keyword: alligator) ensure the funniest moments in “you are cordially invited”. But in addition to the partly silly gags, the somewhat shallow film has a few emotional moments, especially with a view to the topic of the family.

Shallow entertainment with humor and heart

Filmmaker Nicholas Stoller, who wrote the script and directed the script, is a specialist in the field. Films like “Never again sex with the ex” come from him, “almost married” or “Bad Neighbors”. “I think humor only works if the audience recognizes itself in it and somehow honestly comes across,” says Stoller in the dpa interview. “The emotion behind the whole must be real, otherwise it doesn’t ignite.”

In addition to the two stars, an ensemble of lesser -known US comedians in this country, including Jack McBrayer (“30 Rock”) and Keyla Monterroso Mejia (“Leave it, Larry!”) – and some newcomers. TIKTOK star Vinny Thomas ensures some laughs.

A real plus is that Stoller does not follow the usual process of romantic comedies and that his film is a little less predictable. Compared to former comedy wreachers by Will Ferrell – “Old School”, “Step Brothers” or “The agony of choice” – you are warmly invited “. However, the film is ideal as a shallow streaming entertainment for a Sunday evening on the couch.