Movie Number 27 of 2026
The Movie: The Invite
The Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens
Runtime: One hour 47 minutes
Stars: 4
I spent this film thinking 'This would be great as a play." It turns out that this is a remake of a Spanish film, The People Upstairs, which is based on the play of the same name. I mean, the action takes place in one apartment and there are four characters. Easy. Yes. And it seems it's very transferable to celluloid.
There were other things that went through my mind - like Penelope Cruz still looks like an ostrich and why do I want to sort of punch Edward Norton every time I see him on stage, but these didn't stop me from enjoying the film.
The imdb.com blurb reads, '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.'
Joe (Seth Rogan) is a disillusioned teacher. Angela (Olivia Wilde) is not enjoying her marriage, and you get the feeling early on that she wants to pull the pin. Annoying them both are the couple upstairs, whose apparent loving relationship, noisy sex life and other traits drive them crazy. The couple invite Pina (Penelope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton) over for dinner, with the intention to gently confront them with a few home truths.
And that's where the fun begins.
The Invite is laugh out loud funny in many places, with unexpected twists taking the plot in many directions that you'll never see coming. Will McCormack and Rashida Jones have done a great job in adapting Cesc Gay's original script. It's fast-paced, wise and very cool in many ways. I like the films emotional intelligence, which goes well with the adult humour.
My only small reservation is some of Olivia Wilde's direction. Some of the camera work is quite jarring - especially at the start of the film. It settles down once Pina and Hawk enter the room. Wilde has some directing kudos - the work she did on Booksmart was fantastic. This is nearly as good.
This is definitely worth a look. In my opinion, you can't beat smart funny - which this has in droves.
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