By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.4 cats
Director: Olivia Wilde
Starring: Ed Norton | Olivia Wilde | Penélope Cruz | Seth Rogan
Year: 2026
Running time: 103
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14173636
Peter says: “The closing night of IFFBoston is always a bittersweet affair – it’s the official capping off of what to me is basically film nerd summer camp. My volunteer friends of 10+ years were so excited to have gotten “veteran” pins as a result of their longtime participation, I was excited to represent an official sponsor of this year’s fest through Chlotrudis, and we all reunited with old friends and made new ones along the way (of course, always making an effort to swap our Letterboxd accounts)!
“The closing night film was the latest from Olivia Wilde, the buzzy Sundance dramedy The Invite, with Wilde in person for an introduction and post-screening conversation with her own therapist! I could have potentially asked for a picture or autograph, but she entered the building in the literal minute I went to use the bathroom, of course. I thought my friends were messing with me when they were like ‘You just missed her!’
“Either way, it was a very cool experience, and I had a front row seat nonetheless. The film itself was presented on 35mm film, which was perfect for its kind of old school Mike Nichols vibes. In very Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf fashion, the film follows an endlessly bickering couple, Joe and Angela (Wilde and Seth Rogen), who are hosting a double date dinner party with their seemingly chill neighbors, Pina and Hawk (Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton). However, it’s quickly apparent that Joe and Angela’s marriage is deeply troubled, and through a hilarious series of events trying to keep the party going, their relationship goes to wild places over the course of the night.
“Despite the film taking place in one location, relying solely on its characters and dialogue to string you along, I found The Invite relatably enjoyable from beginning to end. I’m sure a lot of this hits home for its director, who has experienced three high-profile breakups in her life – and is probably why she opted to bring her therapist on stage after the film rather than a traditional audience Q&A with any tone-deaf questions lobbed at her.
“All four leads are excellent – with Wilde being so desperate to appear cool to this couple, Rogen a sarcastic miserable jerk, Norton being kind of a performative intellectual, and Cruz is perfect as the ‘mother hen’ trying to dispense sage advice. The simmering energies and resentments and catharsis and awkwardness that emerge from the chemistry of these people enduring a night together was like watching a brilliant stage play unfold.
“So not a bad ending to the fest! I already can’t wait for next year to make more movie memories!
“While it roughly follows the trajectory of Mike Nichols’ classic film of the Edward Albee play, this is not a remake. For one thing, despite the earlier film’s gallows humor, The Invite is unashamedly hilarious (the words ‘screwball cringe’ came to mind early on) with its rat-a-tat-tat dialogue, one-liners and sight gags (Rogen struggling to bike up the city’s infamously hilly streets is a highlight of the latter.) It’s not long before sex-therapist Pína and ex-firefighter Hawk feel like near-kindred spirits to Angela and Joe, especially in their own neuroses. All four actors are a delight to watch with a reminder of still-otherworldly Cruz’s often obscured talent for comedy.
“As the night lingers on, events become more outrageous before it pulls back for pathos and some catharsis. The shifting tone is handled elegantly even as it slows the built-up momentum to a crawl. As for Wilde, this makes the misguided Don’t Worry Darling feel like an aberration in her filmmaking career. While more fun than profound, The Invite is worth sitting through to arrive at an affecting if ambiguous détente of a conclusion between two of its four characters. 3.75 cats”
“(A24 will distribute this summer.)”