The Invite Review: A-List Ensemble Electrifies Hilarious Couples Night Gone Wrong Comedy
Sundance film festival: Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton deliver exceptional performances in a smart and funny winner about sex, marriage and partner-swapping. The film premiered to a sold-out audience on Saturday night, generating significant buzz and standing ovations.
A Welcome Return to Smart Adult Comedy
Following last year's under-seen but tremendously entertaining "unromantic comedy" Splitsville, The Invite represents another significant step in filling the mid-sized movie gap for adult audiences. Like its predecessor, this film offers a seriously well-directed, genuinely funny and relatably messy look at two couples navigating the complexities of non-monogamy and modern relationships.
The Invite shares similar thematic ground with Splitsville, focusing on adult couples negotiating anxieties surrounding sex with other people. While it lacks the same absurdist slapstick streak, being more grounded in reality, it delivers consistent humour and stylish direction that feels increasingly rare in contemporary comedy film-making.
Star Power and Directorial Vision
The film benefits enormously from its impressive ensemble cast. Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde play a married but miserable couple, while Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton portray their unmarried and seemingly happier upstairs neighbours. This casting represents significant star power that should help the film reach wider audiences than its predecessor.
Olivia Wilde directs her third feature film here, following the fizzy teen comedy Booksmart and visually striking thriller Don't Worry Darling. The Invite marks a notably exciting new high for Wilde as a film-maker, demonstrating her growth and commitment to collaborating with top-tier craftspeople despite previous script challenges.
Technical Excellence and Creative Collaboration
Although primarily a one-location comedy, The Invite boasts impressive technical credentials that elevate the material. Wilde shoots on 35mm film and collaborates with an exceptional creative team including:
- Dev Hynes (Blood Orange) on the musical score
- Four-time Oscar nominee Arianne Phillips on costume design
- Yorgos Lanthimos editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis
- Cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra, who previously worked on The Last Black Man in San Francisco and coincidentally, Splitsville
This collaboration gives the film a wonderfully glossy, classic feeling that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly contemporary.
Plot and Character Dynamics
The Invite is a remake of Spanish comedy The People Upstairs, which has seen four international remakes previously. The story focuses on one disastrous hangout where married couple Joe (Rogen) and Angela (Wilde) invite their freewheeling upstairs neighbours Pina (Cruz) and Hawk (Norton) over for drinks.
Joe is an unhappy music professor who prefers complaining about his failed career rather than addressing his marital dissatisfaction. Angela is desperate to impress, particularly jealous of Pina's effortless sexuality and audible orgasms through the ceiling. The sexually liberated couple represents an ideal that seems increasingly out of reach for Joe and Angela's marriage, setting the stage for a night of uncomfortable revelations.
Performance and Direction Highlights
The film takes some time to settle into its rhythm, with early scenes between Rogen and Wilde reaching such a high pitch of marital sniping that viewers might worry about the film's sustainability. Some of Wilde's initial directorial choices feel slightly fussy, as if overcompensating to avoid appearing like a stagy chamber piece.
However, the pace soon relaxes, and the film-making finds its elegant stride. There's nimble choreography to how the characters quip, crosstalk, interrupt and trail off in dialogue that feels carefully crafted rather than improvised. Every aside reveals character depth, nearly every joke lands effectively, and each actor commits fully to making every moment count.
While Rogen plays a familiar type, he executes it with such skill that it feels fresh. Cruz and Norton both excel when cutting loose, with Cruz particularly funny as a sexologist who can't resist meddling. But the film represents Wilde's triumph both as director and actor, following her recent success in Gregg Araki's Sundance sex farce I Want Your Sex.
Tonal Mastery and Emotional Resonance
The Invite demonstrates impressive tonal control as the evening progresses from awkward socialising to more serious confrontation. Wilde, along with screenwriters Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, understands how audiences vicariously enjoy watching couples spar, turning viewers into invested commentators on the unfolding drama.
As Joe and Angela's rehearsed sitcom schtick plays out before others, they begin to recognise how nasty and fatiguing their dynamic has become. When jokes start to sour and the night shifts toward more serious territory, Wilde and her experienced ensemble handle the difficult tonal descent without slipping into melodrama or farce.
The film's conclusion proves particularly satisfying, with a delicately sad final scene that earned the Sundance audience's standing ovation. Wilde navigates the ending with precision, avoiding predictable resolutions while delivering emotional payoff.
A Significant Contribution to Contemporary Comedy
The Invite represents the kind of genuinely funny and uncommonly intelligent comedy for adults that many audiences have been waiting for. While comparisons to Woody Allen's sophisticated dialogue-driven comedies are inevitable, the film stands on its own merits rather than feeling like imitation.
Wilde demonstrates clear understanding of how much we enjoy watching couples spar vicariously, creating a film that invites audience investment and emotional engagement. The chance to watch such a well-crafted, intelligent comedy for adults feels like an invitation many have been anticipating.
The Invite is currently screening at the Sundance film festival while seeking distribution, promising to bring its sharp humour and insightful relationship observations to wider audiences in the coming months.
