From director Olivia Wilde and screenwriters Will McCormack and Rashida Jones comes an adaptation of the Spanish comedy The People Upstairs, in which a couple in a troubled marriage attempts to host a dinner party for their upstairs neighbors, who are definitely dynamic due to the lifestyle of their downstairs neighbors. The experience is an exercise in mostly awkward, uncomfortable comedy, and all the players play their roles so incredibly well. Though I have never seen the film that inspired this remake, I can honestly say that The Invite is one of the better comedies of the year so far.
Married couple Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde) live in a comfortable apartment, but their existence is far from that. Craving some semblance of normalcy, Angela decides to invite their upstairs neighbors, another couple named Pina (Penelope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton), who are obviously passionate and seemingly romantic, to her home for a get-together, simply to get to know them better. However, Joe, an unsatisfied music teacher and former professional musician, thinks that this gathering is the perfect opportunity to complain about the loud sex noises they often hear through the ceiling.
As usual, I kept my synopsis from spoiling the overall experience of this film. This movie is best served as a full-course meal with a sampling of everything it has to offer. As many facts and much truth about the characters are revealed, it is quite an experience to get to know the deeper issues each character brings to the table. This is one of those films that could easily be adapted into a stage play, and that style is totally my jam.
I absolutely loved discovering the good qualities, along with their weaknesses and flaws, as each character presents them. Olivia Wilde and her screenwriters have done excellent work in giving the actors a rock-solid foundation to bring their characters to life.
I was certainly impressed with all of the characters. This movie is a smaller affair, but this aspect should not deter people from enjoying it at the theater. I was very fortunate to see this movie at a press screening that was presented in 35mm. It is still an outstanding movie, but there is something quite lovely and tangible about a film projection that a digital presentation does not offer. Thank you, AFS Cinema in Austin, for screening the movie weeks in advance to the movie’s release.
The entire cast is phenomenal, and the direction and writing are definitely fantastic. This is an independent film about real-life struggles and the relationships we have. What initially seems like a shallow exercise about sex and love proves to be so much more. The Invite is one of my favorite comedies of the year so far, and I encourage my readers to see it at their local cinema, because it isn’t often that you get to enjoy something so genuinely magical there.