The Invite is one of the best movies of the year.
Written by Sydney Grulloń-Matos
Directed by one of its four leads — Olivia Wilde — and written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, A24’s The Invite is one of the best movies of the year.
The film centers on Angela (Wilde) and her husband, disheartened music teacher Joe (Seth Rogen), who host dinner for their upstairs neighbors, Piña (Penélope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton).
Angela and Joe’s marriage is on the outs. They argue about everything. Joe is disillusioned with life because his band failed after having a one-hit wonder decades ago. Angela is tired of her husband’s lack of interest in her and the renovations she’s made to their home. Piña and Hawk live upstairs and have such an active sex life that Angela and Joe can hear them through the ceiling. They also have both taken the opportunity to engage with Angela and Joe in the common spaces of their building — Hawk engaging in conversation with intense eye contact every time he runs into Joe, and Piña asking to see the renovations Angela’s made once they’re completed. This leads to Angela inviting them over for an impromptu dinner.
She spends the entire day getting ready for it — buying all sorts of meats and cheeses, finishing up final decorative touches to the apartment. Some of the things she does in vain, like ordering jamón because Piña is Hispanic, only for it to turn out that she doesn’t eat meat, or cheese, or several other things. At least her efforts in decor don’t go unnoticed, as Hawk is an expert in rugs. The entire time, Joe is taking every chance he can to make it clear that he doesn’t want their neighbors there at the moment, because Angela planned this without running it by him at all.
But the night takes a fascinating twist when they learn that their neighbors are swingers. Joe’s sudden disinterest becomes rapt attention as both he and Angela start to ask questions about their new friends’ lifestyle, with the help of a little weed and tequila. It’s a genuine curiosity because not only does it allow Joe to finally complain about how loud the raucous sex they’ve been hearing is, but it also presents an opportunity for him and Angela to partake in their neighbors’ extracurricular activities, because they had an ulterior motive for coming over.
The conversations in the elevator and Hawk and Piña's interest in the renovations were really their way of doing a vibe check on Angela and Joe, because they want to proposition them.
The Invite is an invitation to participate in ethical non-monogamy, and, eager to try, Joe and Angela learn that maybe their marriage really is over. Or is it? Should they throw in the towel, or should they choose to start over, as new versions of themselves and their marriage?
The film’s four leads bounce off of one another beautifully — and thank god for that, because in a film where they spend so much time on screen together, it would be a shame if there was a lack of chemistry between any of them.
The dialogue in McCormack and Jones’s script is witty and, at times, vulgar, eliciting many moments of awkward laughter from the audience as the tension rises throughout the film. But not only is it full of awkward laughs, but it’s also full of genuine laughs, too. One standout moment for me is when Joe asks Hawk about how he went from Howard to ‘Hawk’, and after a monologue from him about not being able to understand his deceased wife’s sexual needs and how that led him to the life he now leads with Piña, Joe can’t help but respond along the lines of, ‘And you choose Hawk?’
Cruz and Norton are a formidable pair, a surprise to absolutely no one, as the two veteran actors have decades of work under their belts. Their chemistry is not only great, but they’re both incredibly hilarious in their respective roles. Seth Rogan has never really been seen as a serious actor by most, but it’s been a joy to watch this new era of his career throughout the last few years between The Studio and The Invite. I don’t think there’s anyone who would’ve been a better foil to Wilde. The two are believable as this lived-in couple, who are unable to meet each other halfway.
The performances in this film are incredible – Wilde specifically stands out, with impeccable comedic timing and facial expressions as the night grows increasingly bizarre. Not only that, but she brings a depth to Angela that really makes you feel for the woman who just wants someone who enjoys her company. Her directing is at its strongest, though; personally, I never doubted her talents, because in my opinion, the biggest problem with her last directorial endeavor, Don’t Worry Darling (2022), was the script, not the direction. The mirror shots in the film are beautiful, and she gets her actors to nail the dialogue so well that the entire film feels like watching a play.
While not the type of dinner I’d like to be invited to, The Invite is captivating, and frankly, one of my favorite A24 films to date.
Photo: A24
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