The Invite is a sparkling comedy-drama with very adult themes that could leave you squirming, but its strongest power is how relatable it is – even if we're not all hopping into bed with our neighbours or discussing the merits of double penetration with near-strangers.
A Relatable Couple on the Brink
Olivia Wilde, who also directs, and Seth Rogen play the frazzled, nit-picking couple who have settled into a disgruntled dynamic without really noticing. When Joe (Rogen) returns home from an unfulfilling day at work, the last thing he wants is to hear that his wife Angela (Wilde) has invited the cosmopolitan couple from upstairs over for drinks. Angela is determined to dazzle them with a soufflé and jamon, but Joe hasn't bought the wine. 'Can we do a reset?' she asks after tempers fray, with Joe correctly deducing that his wife learned this from a podcast.
The Neighbours Arrive
Into this contentious atmosphere come Pína (Penélope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton), a glamorous sex therapist and firefighter who often revert to Spanish in that annoying but undeniably cool way bilingual couples do. While Angela flits around panicking, Joe digs his heels in – only for the neighbours to enjoy his brutal honesty. It transpires that Pína and Hawk were planning to apologise for the loud sex noises upstairs by inviting them to participate in their group sex sessions. The loud orgasms Angela has been jealous of belong to Vanessa... or is it Kai?
A Chaotic Concoction
What follows is a chaotic mix of swinging, Sade, and discussions of pegging, as Hawk offers 'to do the thing that makes Pína scream' to Angela. The script by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones is full of brilliant quips: when Hawk reveals that Pína 'pushed us into anal sex', Joe responds, 'I hope she pushed you gently.' Later, Hawk delivers with expert casualness: 'Gosh guys, we really just wanted to see the apartment – and maybe f**k a little.'
International Appeal
The territory The Invite explores is ripe for both humour and heartfelt moments, showcasing international appeal regarding couples' sex lives. It's based on the 2020 Spanish comedy The People Upstairs, itself based on Cesc Gay's stage play, with remakes in Italian, Swiss, and South Korean already released. The stage roots are evident: the entire film is set in Joe and Angela's flat but never feels confined. It reads like a looser, sexed-up version of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? mixed with Noël Coward's witty battling humour.
Top-Tier Performances
The top-tier cast delivers fully fleshed-out characters, especially Rogen, who brings a career-best performance. The film is likely to slip into awards season to battle anticipated big dogs like Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Three.
If you want a belly laugh while admiring expertly depicted relationships, The Invite is an invitation you won't want to miss. It is in UK cinemas from July 3.
