When I see Reese Witherspoon in a show or movie, I’m immediately sold. The latest one is You’re Cordially Invited, which arrives on Prime Video tomorrow, Thursday, Jan. 30.
This is a rom-com, but it seems with somewhat of a twist. The lead characters aren’t the ones looking for love. They’re the ones planning weddings for their loved ones.
Vinny Thomas talked with us about the movie and what to expect, including a discussion about happy accidents. He also teased his character, Davey, who is the assistant to Witherspoon’s Margot, and we also had to ask about working with Witherspoon so closely.
Getting the role of Davey on You’re Cordially Invited
We started with a discussion about getting the role. Thomas has a relationship with Nick Stoller, the director of the movie, which certainly gave him an in for this one. They worked on Platonic together, and if you haven’t watched that one then stop right now and head over. Okay, read this interview first and then head over to Apple TV+ for it. It follows two midlife platonic best friends who end up stuck in a rut in life.
In life, having the right connections is important. That’s certainly the case here.
“He sometimes just pulls me along to some of his projects, which is great. He’s awesome.”
That turned into an assistant character role for Thomas. We get a clip of him in the trailer as Margot is heading to her office to see her sister. It doesn’t quite do the character justice, but it’s a good first shot.
Who is Davey? That’s something I asked about.
“[He’s Margot’s] assistant…Margot is one of the people kind of fighting over the wedding location with Will [Ferrell]. I’m her chief assistant at her production company, Black Sheep Productions, and I’m very putupon and a little bit surly. A little bit rude, but in a very subtle and kind of polite way that makes you think ‘oh, he’s actually quite nice’ until you think about it for one second.”
Thomas went on to talk about the type of characters that he latches onto, and this is certainly one of them.
“I think my ultimate goal is to play people who carry clipboards and say ‘yes, exactly, thank you.’”
When asked to describe Davey in three words later on, Thomas shared:
“Tight, suspicious, dejected.”
It turns out that Davey is like so many other Millennials, and I even speak for myself here. We are our jobs. We are the labels that we put on ourselves. For Davey, it’s alla bout the job. That has become his life, and it leads to a codependent relationship with Margot.
Working with Reese Witherspoon
There are some actors that I would give my firstborn so that I could work with them. Witherspoon is probably one of them. What was it like working with her, though?
“Reese Witherspoon is funny but also like an actor actor, you know what I mean? I think that was my first time being on screen with someone who really takes the s**t serious. There was one moment where I walked out from the background and we were waiting to shoot. It was just me and Reese standing next to each other. I look at Reese and she’s got this kind of..pinchy little face on and I was worried that she was upset or needed something, so I checked.”
It turned out she was fine and she was just acting. She was locking into the character. That was certainly Thomas’s chance to lock into his own character too!
Favorite moments when filming You’re Cordially Invited
When it came to favorite moments on the set, Thomas talked about a scene. It’s one that he could only tease a little, and something that I’m certainly now looking forward to play out when the movie drops. One more day!
“There’s a scene on a dock where something crazy happens, and I’m just gonna leave it at that. It’s very fun to watch. A lot of people scream. It’s very chaotic.”
And yes, he gets to carry his clipboard around and watch politely from the sidelines. This was definitely a character written with him in mind!
There are some beautiful shots throughout the trailer, so we did briefly talk about shooting on location. It’s in rural Georgia, and somewhere that is magical and picturesque.
“The grass is green, the water’s wet, and there were a lot of white people milling around with sweaters tide around their necks.”
What we can take from You’re Cordially Invited
While this is a rom-com, there is usually a message to take from it. What’s this one?
“I think it’s all about happy accidents. The fact that sometimes from a conflict can arise something else…Initially there’s this huge issue and then more transpires and there’s a lot of chaos, but then there are a lot of turns, too. It’s about turning negatives into positives and making the best of a bad situation.”
This is certainly a healthy message to spread in today’s world. We are constantly faced with negative moments, and while not all of them can be turned into positives, some of them can.
Check out the full interview with Vinny Thomas below. There is a lot more, including his dream role…or roles, I should make it plural!
You’ll definitely want to follow Thomas on social media. He has many skits across his platforms. Now you just need to decide whether it will be TikTok, Instagram, X/Twitter, or even Blue Sky if you’re on there!
You’re Cordially Invited premieres on Prime Video on Thursday, Jan. 30.
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