It used to be normal for bidding wars to regularly break out at larger film festivals. Following particularly acclaimed premieres, the Hollywood studios’ purchasing teams were on the phone trying to get the exploitation rights to the latest hype title. But the indie sector is now lying dormant and news like this has become a real rarity. Even at this year’s Cannes Festival, there were only two films that triggered a real market movement: “Club Kid” and “La Bola Negra”. Four months earlier, there was only one title at the renowned Sundance Film Festival where the bids went through the roof – before the cult studio A24 (“Marty Supreme”) was finally able to beat out the competition from Apple TV, Netflix and Searchlight Pictures.
But you shouldn’t think that the other bidders were just keen on the stars. Because even if the stimulating chamber drama “The Invite” boasts Penélope Cruz, Seth Rogen, Edward Norton and Olivia Wilde, the days when a well-known cast alone was enough to arouse the interest of the cinema community are also over. Instead, with her third directorial effort after “Booksmart” and “Don’t Worry Darling”, Olivia Wilde delivers a real cringe crowdpleaser – which at the same time attracts with a provocative sharpness! “The Invite” first makes you incredibly curious – and then leaves you just as satisfied. Especially since four-time Oscar nominee Edward Norton delivers one of the best performances of his career.
The visit of the neighboring couple Piña (Penélope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton) quickly develops in an unexpected direction…
Joe (Seth Rogen) used to be a successful rock star for one summer. But now the visiting professor can hardly bring himself to teach his equally unmotivated music students. Since his wife Angela (Olivia Wilde) gave him a folding bike, his back pain has only gotten worse – and so he just wants to be left alone that evening. But then comes the bad news: Angela has invited the couple upstairs, who are always so incredibly loud during sex, to dinner.
The psychotherapist Piña (Penélope Cruz) and the ex-firefighter Hawk (Edward Norton), who has been retrained as a masseur, are really likeable. But they also quickly realize what a tense situation they have stumbled into. The evening only becomes a little more relaxed when the guests unpack the origins of the loud moans at night. The noises don’t necessarily only come from the couple themselves; Instead, Piña and Hawk apparently regularly host group sex parties in their apartment…
Much better than the original
Two years ago “The Foursome” with Florian David Fitz was released in cinemas. However, the new edition of a Spanish original turned out to be so stuffy that the genre description “sex comedy” would be far too exaggerated. Instead there was just old-fashioned relationship box monotony. “The Invite” is also based on a Spanish model, the tabloid comedy “Sentimental” from 2020. But Olivia Wilde gives the material a completely new quality in every respect. It starts with the staging. Where the original looks like a polished off-the-shelf comedy, the director and her cameraman Adam Newport-Berra (“Blink Twice”) shot on analog 35mm material.
“The Invite” may take place 95 percent in a single apartment – but the film still looks awesome! The split screens in the opening credits immediately evoke associations with the indie cinema of the seventies – and in terms of vibe, “The Invite” is actually more reminiscent of the swinger classic “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice” than of modern European boulevard. The script by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack (“Celeste & Jesse Forever”) adapts to the directorial ambitions: the two couples are no longer punchline targets reduced to clichés, but complex characters made of flesh and blood – and that is precisely why the embarrassments of the first half of the film sometimes make you squirm in your cinema seat. The script has bite – and the cast nails the timing perfectly.
Angela (Olivia Wilde) and Joe (Seth Rogen) have grown further apart in recent years.
But the changes in the second half are almost even more important, once swinger sex is on the table as a possibility. “The Invite” is actually an invitation to laugh out loud again and again – but fortunately not at the usual “hi, hi, they’re talking about group sex” level. Instead, the reactions of the characters – including the surprised host couple – seem pleasantly adult; And not just because people talk about pegging and the like without any false shame. This evening also catapults a lot of slumbering problems to the surface, which are surprisingly heartwarming for a comedy of this kind.
Conclusion: A brilliantly acted, incredibly entertaining cringe comedy with a true emotional core that will make you laugh in tears, while at the same time the fate of the characters is also honestly touching.