A double-booked wedding leads to all sorts of chaos but very few laughs in "You're Cordially Invited," a sputtering rom-rom that coasts on the starpower of Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon while burying the intelligence of its viewers.

Ferrell plays Jim, the overly protective father of a bride, while Witherspoon plays Margot, the fiercely loyal sister of another. Through a booking snafu, both wedding parties arrive at the same Georgia island destination on the same day for their ceremonies. What, there were no site visits, no confirmations? Stop thinking about the details, no one else did.

Jim is a single father who would do anything for his daughter Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan), while Margot is a high-powered reality TV exec who would do anything for her sister Neve (Meredith Hagner). Jim and Margot immediately clash over their shared booking and trade threats and insults with one another, but then decide to make nice and try to share the space. Gee, what could go wrong?

Plenty, it turns out, and very little goes right for writer-director Nicholas Stoller ("Bros"). "You're Cordially Invited" unfolds as a series of misunderstandings that manifest as escalating acts of sabotage, with Jim at one point kidnapping an alligator and attempting to use it to attack Margot. We're to believe that's how driven to insanity he's become, which is nearly as unlikely as his budding love story with Margot.

Even in a movie where reality is stretched to its limit, it says something that a kiss between its two stars is its most unlikely conceit. Stoller also attempts to shoehorn in gooey sentiments about family, love and loyalty, all of which ring hollow against the movie's exaggerated performances and situations.

At least he wrings a few decent performances from a large supporting cast, including Celia Weston as Margot's deeply Southern mother, Leanne Morgan as an inappropriate aunt and Keyla Monterroso Mejia as Jenni's maid of honor. But they're mere glimmers in what is otherwise an invitation that should by all means be declined.

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'YOU'RE CORDIALLY INVITED'

Grade: D

MPA rating: R (for language throughout and some sexual references)

Running time: 1:49

How to watch: Prime Video

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