Olivia Wilde (Booksmart, Don’t Worry Darling) directs the film The Invite from the script by screenwriters Will McCormack (Toy Story 4) and Rashida Jones (Celeste and Jesse Forever). When I first saw the film, I was very impressed with the writing and concept of the story while thinking it also appears to have been a play as it all takes place on one evening in one place. It was not until I was reading on the Internet that this is a remake of a Spanish stage-to-screen adaptation originally titled Sentimental in Spanish, later released as The People Upstairs in 2020. Once I saw the trailer for Sentimental, I recalled those actors and the story. McCormack and Jones have done an excellent job to create the script that has some humor and yet some people in unhealthy relationships may identify with many scenes.
The four main characters come together one evening and even though there is charged energy, they navigate their way through some awkwardness. The audience may imagine where the story will lead but it is not so predictable to be a letdown. Not at all. The performances by the four actors are very good with each shining at different times. Angela (Wilde) lives with her husband, Joe (Seth Rogen) in a San Francisco apartment that was once Joe’s parents. Mentioned in the dialogue is that they have a 12-year-old daughter who is away for the evening. The relationship is rocky, so it does not set well with Joe to come home from work and find Angela invited the noisy neighbors over for dinner. He does not have enough time to protest, sulk and make excuses – so he stays distant.
They learn Piña (Penélope Cruz) is a psychotherapist and sexologist, and thankfully, her character is not written to be stereotypical. Beautiful, but smart and in control in several ways. She was able to assess the reality of the relationship Angela and Joe were trying to pretend was something else. She and her boyfriend, Hawk (Edward Norton), also have established their own relationship where she is very capable of expressing herself. They make a good couple in the film and great to watch them in their roles. Angela wants to make a good impression with the neighbors; Joe doesn’t care about impressing them. These scenes are very funny – Rogen is great- and some of the audience may relate to being in this situation at some point in their lives. Wilde and Rogen are excellent, portraying a long-married couple who know how to fight. This is what I did not expect of Rogen, who is especially strong. I recommend the film completely.
The film opens in Austin July 3, 2026 and nationwide July 10th.
Source: A24
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