Will Ferrell declined offer to snuggle a real alligator for “You're Cordially Invited”: 'Absolutely not'

This article contains spoilers for You're Cordially Invited.

Alligator Method acting? No, thank you.

Writer-director Nicholas Stoller and the cast of his new Prime Video comedy You're Cordially Invited quickly shut down an offer for star and producer Will Ferrell to snuggle with a real alligator for a scene in the movie. Ferrell stars opposite Reese Witherspoon, also a producer, as adversaries Jim and Margot, who discover that the destination venue they've reserved for their loved ones' wedding — Jim for his daughter, Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan), Margot for younger sister, Neve (Meredith Hagner)  — accidentally double-booked them on the same weekend.

At first, they try to co-exist in the tight quarters but soon find themselves embroiled in an escalating, all-out war — one that culminates in Jim lying in wait in Margot's hotel room with an alligator, intending to unleash it upon her. Of course, Ferrell did not film with a real alligator, opting instead for an animatronic version. However, Stoller tells Entertainment Weekly, "We did get a video from an animal handler who said that she had a very docile alligator that Will Ferrell could hug and hold. We were like, 'Absolutely not. That's not happening.'"

Related: Will Ferrell goes full stylist, loves Reese Witherspoon's 'super cute' bangs in You're Cordially Invited (exclusive)

Ferrell and Witherspoon make for a dynamic nemeses duo in, surprisingly, their first onscreen feature together. For the filmmaker behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek, among other romps, the idea of that dream pairing led to the movie's inception. "I was like, 'I would love to try to make a movie for Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon," says Stoller. "I've been obsessed with both actors my whole career, so I dug in and started to create the characters and the story and the specifics of it." The results are delightfully messy. Below, Stoller breaks down some memorable moments.

On filming with that animatronic alligator and unwittingly continuing a Will Ferrell trend

Jim wrestles the alligator himself after realizing that his plan is a terrible idea, getting battered and bloodied before eventually throwing it out the window. There was some concern that the robotic reptile would not look authentic, but Stoller is pleased with the outcome. "What's funny is when you look at videos of alligators swimming around, they just look fake," he notes. "They look like logs. That's one of the ways they trick prey and stuff. They brought in [the animatronic gator] and two guys controlled it with remote controls. I was worried people would think it's fake because, again, all real alligators look fake, so I gave the alligator more slithers than an alligator would have." The animatronic critter, adds Stoller, was really heavy. "Will could pick it up and throw it around, but that was still heavy, so I wanted to shoot it pretty quickly so he wouldn't get hurt throwing this thing around."

The sequence continues a trend of Ferrell fake-fighting animals on screen (see: a bear in both Anchorman and Semi-Pro and a raccoon in Elf). "I didn't realize that," he says with a laugh. "I just knew it needed to be insane. It just seemed like the peak of craziness to me."

On casting Nick Jonas as a temperamental pastor

For the dual weddings, the idea was to highlight the contrasts between the two parties: one bride (Viswanathan) is young, while the other (Hagner) is a bit more mature and posh. "With Reese's sister's wedding, it's a fancy Southern family. They would've had a family priest," notes Stoller. "But they'd want a young cool priest, so it seemed fun to have a super handsome priest." The Jonas Brothers musician is actually a friend of Ferrell and his producing partner, Jessica Elbaum. "They reached out to him, and he was into doing the idea."

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On having father and daughter duet to the low-key sexual “Islands in the Stream”

During the wedding ceremony, the close-knit Jim and Jenni duet to the slightly inappropriate "Islands in the Stream" by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, much to the guests' discomfort due to the "making love with each other" lyrics. The track was chosen early during the script's inception and stuck. "I was like, 'I'll probably replace it at some point,' and then there's just no better song," says Stoller. "Because it's a very innocent song. You have to believe a father and daughter would sing it. But it's also very sexual. So it's a funny combination." And yes, those are Ferrell and Viswanathan's real singing voices, as well as Witherspoon's real singing voice in the mid-credits duet. 

Related: Reese Witherspoon says Legally Blonde convinced a jury she was a real lawyer: 'I did not go to law school'

You're Cordially Invited is streaming on Prime Video.

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