by Mattie Lucas
Cinema from a Decidedly Queer Perspective
You’re Cordially Invited | 2025
It says something about the current state of theatrical distribution that a comedy starring Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon, directed by the filmmaker who brought us such hits as Neighbors and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, gets unceremoniously dumped on Prime Video without even a token theatrical release. And it's a shame, too, because You’re Cordially Invited is surprisingly good.
There's a certain set of expectations that come with movies about dogs. They tend to be fairly saccharine affairs, if not particularly deep. W.C. Fields once said, "Never work with children or animals," and while he likely had a different idea in mind when he said that - both tend to be used as shortcuts and crutches by filmmakers because they are who audiences will likely sympathize with the most.