Joe and Angela’s marriage is on thin ice. When they invite their enigmatic upstairs neighbors for a dinner party, the night spirals into unexpected places.
From screenwriters Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, and directed by co-star Olivia Wilde, comes the wildly entertaining comedy “The Invite.” Wilde stars as Angela, a homemaker whose marriage to failed musician Joe (Seth Rogen) has been struggling for an extended period. The two have believable chemistry as a bickering married couple who project all their resentments onto each other.
On a night when Joe comes home suffering from excruciating back pain after a commute from work on his foldable bicycle, Angela adds insult to injury by informing him she has invited their upstairs neighbors, Pina and Hawk (Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton, respectively), over for dinner. The result is a wildly entertaining romp through two couples’ crazy evening together. Angela is desperate to make a good impression on the couple, while Joe couldn’t care less and would rather not have anyone over.
This is essentially what’s referred to in television as a “bottle episode,” as the entire film takes place in their San Francisco apartment. This is a bold storytelling decision that risks veering into repetition or claustrophobia, but the script is so well written that it remains funny and engaging throughout. What starts as Angela showing Pina and Hawk around their newly renovated apartment turns into a candid discussion of the visiting couple’s eccentric sex life and a tempting invitation to Joe and Angela to participate in their risqué lifestyle.
Seth Rogen really sells himself as a struggling husband who’s annoyed by his wife and miserable at his job as a music teacher, as does Edward Norton as the pompous, flirty retired firefighter, but Olivia Wilde as neurotic homemaker Angela and Penélope Cruz as Pina the sexologist are the true standouts. Cruz’s thick Spanish accent adds to the eccentricity of her character and the lifestyle she shares with her partner.
“The Invite” boasts a hilarious and unpredictable script and four performances that rise to meet it.
In Theaters Friday, July 10th
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