The following contains spoilers for You’re Cordially Invited, now streaming on Prime VideoYou’re Cordially Invited is a generally sweet comedy that takes on a surprising romantic element late in the movie. The film, directed and written by Nicholas Stoller, focuses on two weddings that end up booked at the same location at the same time. Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon lead the cast of You’re Cordially Invited, playing the two people planning the wedding. Jim’s efforts to give his daughter Jenni a perfect weekend clashes with Morgan’s attempts to do the same for her younger sister Neve, leading the pair into an escalating level of comedic conflict.

Underneath the alligator attacks and goofy sabotage is a surprisingly sweet movie that underscores how the differing dramas in both Morgan and Jim’s lives can be settled through the same principle. This gives You’re Cordially Invited room to develop a surprisingly consistent moral that improves both characters and the lives of those within their respective orbits. It also sets up the film to take a surprising romantic twist that initially seemed impossible, allowing both families to come together in an unexpected way in the Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell comedy movie.

Jim & Morgan’s Romantic Twist Explained

You’re Cordially Invited Takes A Surprising Romantic Turn

Jim and Morgan are enemies for most of You’re Cordially Invited, but the third act of the film actually pushes them in a surprisingly sweet romance. Both Jim and Morgan are portrayed as fundamentally lonely people in their respective lives, albeit for different reasons. While Jim has never fully gotten over his long-deceased wife, Morgan’s commitment to her work has isolated her from the rest of her friends and family. This is partly why both characters throw themselves so fully into helping their only clear loved ones, and why they become so obsessed with ensuring they have a perfect wedding.

However, that obsession leads to conflict between the pair, which Jenni and Neve both comment on. Eventually, Jenni spells it out for Morgan that her father is attracted to her, which explains a certain level of obsession over her and her actions. Confronted with this and her own acknowledgment of Jim’s better qualities, Morgan admits her own attraction to him. This leads to a kiss between the pair at the end of the film and a subsequent relationship that the credits scenes suggest will eventually lead to marriage (even if Morgan is happy to skip the wedding itself).

What Happens To You’re Cordially Invited’s Newlyweds

The Two Weddings At The Core Of You’re Cordially Invited Both Get Happy Endings

At the heart of You’re Cordially Invited is two weddings. One of them is between Neve and Dixon, while the other is between Jenni and Oliver. Both couples face some level of scrutiny from their respective families, however. Neve fears that her family looks down on Dixon, and won’t support her secret pregnancy. Meanwhile, Jim is concerned that recent college grads Jenni and Oliver are far too young to be getting married. While both weddings do happen and both couples are still together by the end of the film, Jenni and Oliver’s marriage takes a sudden somber turn.

Led to believe that Oliver is cheating on Jenni by a mistaken Morgan, Jim accidentally sets off a chain of events that forces the couple to reevaluate their marriage. Although they ultimately remain together romantically, the pair have the wedding annulled once they leave the island. Meanwhile, Neve and Dixon overcome their own hangups and the problems caused by Jim to enjoy their chaotic wedding. They are later shown with a baby, happily embraced by their family as a whole. Overall, You’re Cordially Invited gives everyone a happy ending.

Why Jim Is So Focused On His Daughter Jenni & How Morgan Changes It

Jim And Jenni Became Extra Close After A Major Family Loss

Jim spends much of You’re Cordially Invited doing everything he can to provide for his daughter, and openly considers her to be the most important person in his life. His obsession with her happiness stems from his desire to spare her any more emotional pain after being forced to tell her about the death of her mother when she was a child. However, despite his altruistic motivations, Jim’s obsession with his daughter’s happiness has left him blind to the uncomfortable nature of their closeness as well as the impact it is having on her life.

During a conversation between Morgan and Jenni one night, Jenni admits that Jim can be overwhelming. So much of his happiness is based on her own happiness, meaning she can’t be honest about her internal pain or personal strife without risking his emotions in the process. Morgan offers her advice about creating boundaries with Jim, which Jenni takes to heart. Although she initially lashes out with this perspective out of anger of Jim’s actions during the wedding, she and her father eventually talk it out. In this sense, Morgan becomes an important figure to Jenni before she bonds with Jim.

How Morgan’s Big Family Drama Directly Reflects Jim & Jenni

Family Conflicts Are At The Heart Of You’re Cordially Invited

In direct contrast to Jim and Jenni’s close relationship, Morgan is shown to have become increasingly estranged from her own family. Her mother bickers with her at every chance, and Morgan quickly ends up arguing with two of her siblings. Her only concrete family connection is with Neve, which is challenged by Morgan’s behavior during the wedding. However, it’s shown that Morgan is saddened by this turn of events. Morgan confronts her family about feeling left out of their lives and feeling alone when she’s with them, directly calling her mother out for failing to reach out to her.

In response, Morgan’s mother points out that Morgan has also allowed the relationship to reach that point. After Neve and Dixon’s wedding, Morgan’s mother admits she carried on the tensions she had with her own mother and forced them onto Morgan, with the pair finally working on repairing their relationship. Their honesty plays a key role in the climax of the film, as it helps inspire Jim to follow their example and open up to his daughter. While Morgan’s larger family is more troubled on the surface, they grow in the same way that Jim and Jenni do.

The True Meaning Of You’re Cordially Invited

Honesty Is The Key To Healthy Relationships, Even In Goofy Romantic Comedies

You’re Cordially Invited reinforces the importance of honesty and boundaries in relationships, whether they be romantic or familial. In both Morgan and Jim’s lives, their relationships are complicated by false ᴀssurances. They believe in their own perspectives on their loved ones, whether they be unrelentingly positive or deeply critical. In both cases, Jim and Morgan are forced to reckon with their mistakes. However, both also make peace with their respective families by being vulnerable and honest, allowing them to come together again. This is why both families are presented in a much better light by the end of the film.

This is also the key to Jim and Morgan’s relationship. Neither character initially seems to be aware of their attraction to the other and instead focuses on their desire to one-up each other. However, both characters are also shown to be capable of overcoming their personal hang-ups and can be actually honest with one another. When they do so, they also reflect on their chemistry and end up romantically attached. This reinforces the positive impact that honesty can have in relationships, with all of You’re Cordially Invited‘s connections improved by this decision.