The Invite

Director Olivia Wilde gives two fingers, as well as a deep understanding, to human relationships in The Invite, her vivacious comedy centred on two couples and the disastrous dinner that brings them together. 

The film opens with a wry, anti-marriage quote by the other Wilde and ends with a dedication to Diane Keaton, an actor with a nervous, hyper-relatable disposition when channelling matters of the heart. Clearly influenced by Keaton’s most beloved performances, Wilde’s Angela is the neurotic, eager hostess of an awkward soirée you'll wish you scored an invitation to. Resentments bubble harder than the flat champagne that's been served as Angela's husband, Joe (Seth Rogen), makes it clear he's not thrilled to welcome their loud, sex-positive upstairs neighbours, Pína (Penélope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton). This courtesy get-together turns conflictual the second the new couple walks into Angela and Joe's painstakingly renovated (by her) apartment as their respective secrets scream to come to the surface.

The American remake of the 2020 Spanish film The People Upstairs, in turn based on a stage play, The Invite thrives in the tension, sexual and otherwise, maintaining the electrifying chemistry between the four stars at an all-time high throughout. Wilde brilliantly directs a chamber piece that's intimate and uproariously witty, with the quartet bouncing off each other with a comedic timing so impeccable you'll forgive some easy clichés about ethical non-monogamy. Like most dinner parties, The Invite saves the best for last, but by the time dessert is served, the climax feels frustratingly too little, too late.