REVIEW: THE INVITE
THE GIST
What a great film. I laughed so much and so did the rest of the people in the cinema. The chemistry between the cast was perfection. Such a gem!
THE REVIEW
***SPOILERY***
EXPECTATIONS
I have been impressed with the ratings and reviews so far and have avoided finding out too much about it.
The cast is packed with talent and I love me some Seth Rogen humour. He has a self deprecating and humbling “every guy” humour that could perfectly balance out a film that looks like it could become pretentious.
RATINGS SO FAR
CONTEXT
In March 2021, it was announced that a remake of the 2020 Spanish film The People Upstairs (Sentimental), an adaptation of Cesc Gay's stage play Els veïns de dalt / Los vecinos de arriba, was in development from producer David Permut. The original film has also been adapted in France, Italy, Switzerland, and South Korea. In March 2022, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris were hired to direct the film, with Rashida Jones and Will McCormack set to write the screenplay. In May 2023, retitled The Invite, Amy Adams, Paul Rudd and Tessa Thompson were cast to star.
Development was delayed until April 2025 when it was revealed Olivia Wilde would direct with herself, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton cast to star; filming began in Los Angeles. On May 21, 2025, it was reported that filming took place in San Francisco on Tuesday and Wednesday of that week, specifically at the auditorium in A.P. Giannini Middle School in the Sunset District, a BART train from Glen Park station to Balboa Park station, Make-Out Room nightclub in the Mission District, Castro District Farmers' Market, and Molinari Delicatessen. The film was shot in twenty-three days, in chronological order
THE PLOT
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.
THE EXPERIENCE
What a great film experience!
The whole cinema laughed out loud along with me.
It never felt claustrophobic despite never leaving the same apartment.
It has a surprisingly heartfelt and sweet ending.
THE MEAT
The Performances: I will talk about all the actors individually but just know that they are all of such high calibre that I honestly think all four deserve award nominations. In order for this movie to work it needed all four pillars holding the weight and they all did.
Olivia Wilde - Director/Actor = Angela: What the f*&$ is up with Olivia Wilde? Her last film was a bit of a fumble and there was all that not even true controversies surrounding it that it must have taken its toll? Then, years later, she confidently reveals this to the world and hits it out of the park like we ain’t seen nothing yet. She is firing on all cylinders in this as the Director and as the lead actress Angela. She said so much with her expressions on her face. I am not sure what they always meant but she was mesmerising to watch.
Seth Rogen - Actor = Joe: All of these people are top notch actors but it was a good idea to make Seth Rogen top billing. It could have worked with Paul Rudd, I thought about that a number of times while watching this. But it wouldn’t have been the same movie. Having Seth Rogen’s tone in this film was perfection. He is one of those comedians that also has amazing depths when it comes to acting. But in saying that, I feel this wasn’t much of a stretch for him as the character seemed like a “Seth Rogen type”.
SUMMARY
This is one of my top three films this year alongside I Swear and Obsession. That should say enough right there.
