‘The Invite’ Full Review: Olivia Wilde’s Hellish, Absurd, and Wonderfully Entertaining Dinner Party
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, film critic Imogen Scott writes in an exclusive review that the new feature film The Invite, directed by Olivia Wilde and produced by A24, is a high-energy, hugely engaging mature comedy starring Wilde alongside Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, and Penélope Cruz. With a bold and satirical narrative, the film explores the deep fractures in marital relationships, the challenges of marriage, and the complexities of modern love.
The story opens with an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s famous quote: “One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry.” Immediately following the quote, we see the gloomy and frustrated face of Joe (played by Seth Rogen), an impatient music teacher who, in the opening minutes, struggles even to maneuver his folding bicycle through a doorway, becoming the laughingstock of his students. In stark contrast, his wife Angela (played by Olivia Wilde) is an anxious and obsessive woman prepping their glamorous yet slightly eccentric San Francisco home for a rare dinner party. Angela has bought a new rug, six varieties of cheese, and is baking a soufflé to entertain their upstairs neighbors, while Joe hasn’t even bothered to pick up a bottle of wine.
The guests for this eventful dinner are Huck (played by Edward Norton) and Pina (played by Penélope Cruz)—an eccentric, bold, and loud couple whom Angela and Joe previously knew only through the sounds of their late-night intimacy. Upon their arrival, the seemingly simple dinner quickly turns into a battleground of marital tension, jealousy, and conflicting personalities. Written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, the screenplay uses a fast pace and dynamic momentum to escalate behavioral comedic situations into a shocking comedy of errors.
Among the film’s highlights are the outstanding performances of its four leads. Olivia Wilde delivers one of her best comedic turns, using expressive facial movements and precise physical comedy timing that recall classic stars of the genre. Edward Norton shines with infectious joy as Huck, forming an unpredictable and magnetic quartet alongside Penélope Cruz and Seth Rogen.
The technical and artistic credits also contribute significantly to elevating the film: from Devonté Hynes’s tense, unsettling score to Arianne Phillips’s clever costume design and Adam Newport-Berra’s cinematography, which creates artistic framings within the apartment’s confined space. Although the third act loses some momentum as it ventures into darker emotional territory and veers away from pure comedy, The Invite overall remains a smart, mature, and hilarious comedy that makes for a thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience.
