The Invite 4 ½ stars
In The Invite, now in theaters we meet Joe (Seth Rogen of Dumb Money and Long Shot) and Angela (Olivia Wilde of Don’t Worry Darling and Meadowland), a married couple whose marriage is clearly headed for trouble. Joe has anger issues and is dissatisfied with his job as an associate professor at a music conservatory. Angela is a stay-at-home mom who takes care of their tween daughter and loves to decorate the house (apartment) tastefully. From the moment Joe arrives home one evening, the bickering starts and I was wondering what I am in for. Before long Angela reveals that she has invited the upstairs neighbors for an evening dinner and learns that Joe has forgotten to pick up some wine for the occasion. In fact, Joe can’t remember the evening plans at all and is in no mood to be entertaining guests, so the arguing continues. When the couple, Hawk (Edward Norton of A Complete Unknown and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) and Piña (Penélope Cruz (who is amazing in everything)) arrives it doesn’t take long before we see that Joe resents them over their noisy amorous activities at night while he and Angela are trying the sleep. We find out that Hawk used to be a firefighter while Piña is a “sexologist”. (The story also depends on the strategic placement of certain windows in the apartment that I find difficult to explain.) Also, it soon becomes apparent that this new couple has a certain agenda in mind for their hosts that will play out through the evening. The Invite, directed by Olivia Wilde (her third time out directing after Booksmart and Don’t Worry Darling), is actually a remake of the Spanish film, The People Upstairs, one of a few sex comedies that have appeared over the years. Her direction combined with the writing of Rashida Jones and Will McCormack have given us a smart sex comedy driven by the talents of these four great actors. This is a well written comedy that depends on the dialogue of the actors and the well-coordinated interaction between them. They easily go from what seems to be a friendly conversation to something that turns into a conflict revealing deep resentment. This is not at all the kind of comedy that usually typifies a Seth Rogen movie. You feel like you are watching a real dinner party with layers of deep feelings being slowly peeled away. If this type of smart comedy sounds appealing to you, then you should be sure to see it while you can.