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A nicely offbeat ensemble cast, led by the always-winning Anna Kendrick, makes the gentle wedding farce "Table 19" worth the RSVP.

Kendrick plays Eloise McGarry, who wrestles with the choice of an RSVP to the wedding of her longtime friend Francie Millner (Rya Meyers). Eloise was going to be Francie's maid of honor, but lost that privilege when Francie's brother Teddy (Wyatt Russell), the groom's best man, dumped Eloise after two years together. Eventually Eloise decides to go.

At the reception, Eloise finds herself assigned to Table 19. Since she helped Francie plan the wedding, before Teddy dumped her, Eloise knows the significance of the seating chart. She knows that Table 19 is the Siberia of the reception, or, as she puts it, the place for people who "should have known to send regrets, but not before sending something nice off the registry."

Also seated at Table 19 are: Jo Flanagan (June Squibb), Francie's first nanny; the recently paroled Walter Thimple (Stephen Merchant), a nephew of the groom's father; Renzo Eckberg (Tony Revolori), a nervous teen hoping to find a girlfriend; and Bina and Jerry Kepp (Lisa Kudrow and Craig Robinson), a bickering couple who run a diner and are business acquaintances of the groom's father.

As the story — scripted by indie darlings Jay and Mark Duplass — bumps unevenly from pratfalls to seriocomic vignettes, secrets are revealed about all six of the table's denizens. The six strangers also manage to band together, finding friendship and bucking up Eloise as she deals with the pain of watching Teddy with his new girlfriend, Nikki (Amanda Crew), and the mystery of the handsome wedding crasher (Thomas Cocquerel) she danced with and kissed.

Director Jeffrey Blitz — making his first feature since 2007's "Rocket Science," which gave Kendrick one of her first starring roles — is a bit unsteady with the slapstick elements of the script. He gets into a nice groove as the movie progresses, as the wedding band runs through its '80s hits and the farce evolves into a solid ensemble comedy.

Kendrick's impeccable comedy chops and plucky charm carry the day, raising "Table 19" to the level of an unassumingly pleasant comedy.

Twitter: @moviecricket —

HHH

'Table 19'

A jilted maid of honor attends her friend's wedding anyway in this uneven but still charming comedy.

Where • Theaters everywhere.

When • Opens Friday, March 3.

Rating • PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual content, drug use, language and some brief nudity.

Running time • 87 minutes.