Witherspoon and Ferrell spar in wedding comedy ‘You’re Cordially Invited’

LONDON: Hollywood star Reese Witherspoon says teaming up with actor Will Ferrell for the romantic comedy “You’re Cordially Invited” was a long time coming.

The actors, who in 2001 worked together on a “Saturday Night Live” episode, make their first joint feature film appearance in the movie, which they also produced.

“Every day I was on set, I was like, Will, this is on my bucket list,” Witherspoon said at the film’s premiere at London’s Palladium theatre on Thursday.

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“You’re Cordially Invited” sees two wedding parties arriving at a small island hotel to discover their nuptials have accidentally been booked for the same day.

Widower Jim (Ferrell), whose daughter is getting married, and Margot (Witherspoon), an LA-based reality TV executive in charge of her sister’s wedding, agree to share the venue but quickly come to regret their decision. Chaos and comedy ensue as the two clash and seek to outdo each other.

Ferrell, 57, a father of three sons and Witherspoon, 48, who also has three children, said the film’s family dynamics resonated with them.

“Will’s daughter is getting married and he’s worried he’s going to have nothing for himself because she’s really his lifeline. And I’m worried my sister is going to leave my life,” said Witherspoon.

“Underneath all of the sparring and fighting there’s this deep fear and I think that’s how we connect in the end.”

The film is written and directed by “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Bros” filmmaker Nicholas Stoller.

“I’m a father of three daughters, so I certainly poured a lot of my experiences into his (Ferrell) character. And then Reese’s sister is getting married and she has a kind of complex relationship with their family, and we all have complex relationships with our family. So, it was a bit autobiographical,” Stoller said.

“You’re Cordially Invited” starts streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video on Jan. 30.