An adult movie in every sense of the word, The Invite is nothing more than a sad-horny discussion. Director and star Olivia Wilde makes a strong case that the unintentionally hilarious Don’t Worry Darling was the anomaly on her filmography and not the intentionally hilarious Booksmart. The Invite is not hilarious.
It is billed as a comedy. This is because “husband and wife bicker” is a primordial humorous premise. Presumably, caveperson couples cracked on each other about how Ugg failed to find fire and Ugga bought an expensive wheel, while sabretooth tigers chuckled a laugh track. For about a billion reasons, no matter how gifted the performers or savvy the script, there will always be something palpably unfunny about people who once loved each other being mean and cruel, even cleverly.
Joe (Seth Rogen) is mean and cruel to Angela (Wilde). Whether this is the vibe that The Invite meant to achieve or a consequence of Rogen’s performance is unclear. His wry whining and lackadaisical narcissism can be effectively comedic if used precisely. It was the wrong choice here, provided anyone is supposed to see Joe and Angela as equally responsible for the shambles their marriage is in. Joe sucks. Objectively. He is mean and cruel. It isn’t funny.
But the situation is. Piña (Penélope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton) live above the unhappy couple and have been driving Joe insane with their enthusiastic sex sessions. This is why He mines the depth of his empty soul to get even more unpleasant with Angela for unexpectedly inviting Piña and Hawk to come over. As the trailer suggests, the upstairs couple came downstairs to propose going downtown on each other.
The first 45 minutes swells with intentional tension intended to be broken up by comedic beats that don’t actually blunt the savagery on display. The next 30 minutes is a mild riot, as Joe and Angela stop sparring out of pure shock at their neighbors’ proposition. The final 30 minutes is a masterpiece that should probably be shown Clockwork Orange style to people who still poo-poo therapy as a “scam.”
Let’s set aside Rogen. Wilde is as exceptional in front of the camera as she is behind it. Angela could have been a cliché but feels jarringly real. Cruz, astonishingly, chooses this as the place to deliver what could be her best performance. And Norton is transcendent, landing all the biggest laughs and the film’s most profound monologue.
If The Invite is not read as a condemnation of how both parties in a relationship are typically even in blame but as a reminder of how someone like Joe can fall into a mental fugue and see himself as a victim and not the cause of marital sadness, it is pretty fantastic. If the intent was to excoriate toxic relationships a la Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? it missed its mark. Without having seen Cesc Gay’s Sentimental and choosing to believe the best of screenwriters Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, The Invite is among the year’s best dramas (and worst comedies).
Grade = A-
Other Critical Voices to Consider
Cate Marquis at We Are Movie Geeks says “the actors’ excellent work and intelligent, realistic way the script deals with relationship and life issues, makes this dark, biting comedy worthwhile, especially with its glimmer of something hopeful at the end.”
Rohan Naahar at The Federal says “It’s unfortunate, then, that the third act can’t match the energy of the preceding hour. It’s not that the movie trades humour for sentimentality, but it’s almost as if the script abruptly runs out of funny observations.”
Kristian Lin at Fort Worth Weekly says “the film contains not only the performance of Wilde’s career, but Rogen’s too. Whether Joe is twerking and flailing his arms trying to do a sexy dance for Piña or leaking resentment toward his wife, it’s Rogen’s comic energy that constantly propels this movie forward.”