David R. Walker

The Invite

Director: Olivia Wilde

Cast: Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, Edward Norton

Running Time: 1 hour 47 minutes

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Based on the 2020 Spanish film The People Upstairs or Sentimental, screenwriters Rashida Jones and Willl Cormack recreate this quartet drama in director Olivia Wilde’s new adult comedy The Invite starring Oscar winner Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), four time Oscar nominee (A Complete Unknown, Birdman, American History X and Primal Fear) Edward Norton along with comedy star Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde who complete the cast.

Now it’s extremely difficult to make a film with just four actors and not use any of the usual mise-en-scene like glamourous locations or a fabulous apartment to add panache to the story.

Director Paul Feig did it correctly in the sumptuous but unhinged domestic thriller in the 2025 film The Housemaid incorporating an amazing house with sleek New York locations.

Don’t Worry Darling director Olivia Wilde battles to keep the momentum going in The Invite which focuses on uncommunicative husband and wife played by Seth Rogen and Angela.

Joe is the absent-minded grumpy husband with constant back pain, a comic foil to the practical yet anxiety ridden Angela both expertly played by these two actors. After a long day at a second rate music school in San Francisco, Joe comes home to their beautiful apartment to the news that Angela has invited their mysterious but kinky neighbours for dinner. An unexpected invite that Joe is not impressed with.

The neighbours Pina and Hawk are exotic and strange, both exceptionally well played by Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton. Cruz is especially brilliant at nonchalantly unravelling the multiple marital issues that Joe and Angela are desperately trying to mask.

As the two couples settle down for a competitive dinner made only more tolerable by multiple tequila shots and large amounts of weed, the conversation takes a weird turn. For Pina and Hawk are into some niche ways of spicing up their sex life.

As a film, The Invite is saved by excellent performances by Seth Rogen and Penelope Cruz however the dialogue is lacking in times and could have been polished with wit and sarcasm as opposed to those awkward pauses. The aesthetics of The Invite could have been improved considering that this film is not visually interesting except for the character interaction and the great plot twist.

The Invite will find a contemporary adult audience that enjoy more mature comedies which encapsulate all the current social anxieties that torment 21^st century couples.

The Invite gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is enjoyable but not perfect. Recommended viewing.

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