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Cinema Village

The Invite

(R) A24 - 107 min
  • DIRECTOR: Olivia Wilde
  • STARRING: Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz

Synopsis:

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.

Information:

Reviews

Overall Rating Based on 3 Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
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Current Reviews
JOHN FRANCIS FOX
3 out of 5 stars

FINAL COMMENTS ON "THE INVITE"

August 19, 2026
I WANT TO CORRECT THE MISTAKES IN MY PREVIOUS COMMENTS: I MEANT TO USE THE PHRASE "SOMBER TONE OF VOICE" WHEN I WAS DESCRIBING PINA's RESPONSE TO JOE'S INSENSITIVE REMARKS ABOUT PINA'S PERIMENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS, & I MISTAKENLY USED THE PHRASE ABOUT HOW THE SUBJECT OF SWINGING SEEMED DARING BACK IN THE EARLY' '70'S ON TV SHOWS LIKE "ALL IN THE FAMILY" & "LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE" TWICE BY MISTAKE. (PERHAPS THE CINEMA VILLAGE COULD HAVE A SCREENING OF EARLY '70'S COMEDIES ABOUT SWINGING LIKE "ALL THE LOVING COUPLES" & "I COULD NEVER HAVE SEX WITH A MAN WHO HAS SO LITTLE RESPECT FOR MY HUSBAND" SO THAT WE CAN SEE HOW THEY COMPARE TO "THE INVITE"). I HOPE THAT THE MISTAKES I MADE WON'T KEEP PEOPLE FROM SEEING A WONDERFUL FILM LIKE "THE INVITE"!

JOHN FRANCIS FOX
3 out of 5 stars

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS ON "THE INVITE"

August 16, 2026
THE TWO CONTRASTING REACTIONS FROM ANGELA & JOE LEAVE US WITH THE IMPRESSION THAT ANGELA HAS BEEN WAITING A LONG TIME TO HEAR A COMPLIMENT LIKE THAT FROM JOE, & ALSO THAT JOE HAD NO IDEA THAT SHE WAS WAITING FOR SUCH A COMPLIMENT. WE ALSO GET A SENSE OF HOW PINA FEELS WHEN JOE MAKES AN INSENSITIVE COMMENT ABOUT HER PERIMENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS, & MS. CRUZ PUTS ON A SERIOUS EXPRESSION, & OF VOICE TO LET HIM KNOW WHAT SHE THINKS OF HIS REMARK. THERE IS ALSO A VERY TOUCHING MOMENT BETWEEN HAWK & ANGELA WHEN THEY ARE ALONE IN HER BEDROOM, & HAWK STARTS TO TALK ABOUT WHAT SETTINGS SHE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN HER FUTURE, AFTER MENTIONING A COUPLE OF SETTINGS, HE THEN SAYS, "COPENHAGEN". WHILE HE IS SAYING THIS, THE CAMERA IS ON MR. NORTON, BUT, AFTER THE MENTION OF "COPENHAGEN," THE CAMERA PANS OVER TO MS. WILDE, & THE DELIGHTED LOOK ON MS. WILDE'S FACE MAKES US REALIZE THAT ANGELA FEELS THAT HAWK UNDERSTANDS WHAT SHE WOULD LIKE. DIRECTOR WILDE & HER CINEMATOGRAPHER, ADAM NEWPORT-BERRA USE A SIMILAR TECHNIQUE WHEN ANGELA & HAWK ARE BACK IN THE LIVING ROOM WITH JOE & PINA, & ANGELA MAKES A REMARK ABOUT JOE BEING MISERABLE. WHEN ANGELA MAKES HER REMARK, MS. WILDE IS SEEN IN A SHARP FOCUS, & MR. ROGEN IS SEEN IN A SOFT FOCUS. BUT, THEN MS. WILDE & MR. NEWPORT-BERRA TURN A SHARP FOCUS ON MR. ROGEN, & HE STARTS TO USE AN ANGRY TONE TO ILLUSTRATE ALL THE REASONS THAT HIS CHARACTER HAS FOR FEELING MISERABLE. I THOUGHT THE FILM STARTED TO TAKE AN UNFORTUNEATE TONE WHEN WE LEARN THAT ANGELAA LET HAWK SEE HER DO SOMETHING THAT ENDS UP MAKING JOE FEEL JEALOUS BECAUSE THAT REVELATION JUST MADE ANGELA LOOK FOOLISH. I ALSO THOUGHT ALL OF THE TALK ABOUT PINA & HAWK'S SEXUAL ACTIVITIES WERE SOMEWHAT POINTLESS. (DISCUSSIONS ABOUT SWINGING SEEMED DARING BACK IN THE EARLY '70'S SEEMED DARING BACK IN THE EARLY '70'S WHEN TV SHOWS LIKE "ALL IN THE FAMILY" & "LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE" DEALT WITH THAT ISSUE, BUT IT JUST SEEMS SILLY NOW). HOWEVER, WHEN PINA TELLS JOE & ANGELA THAT THEY NEED TO FIND A WAY TO REPAIR THEIR RELATIONSHIP, WE SEE THEM ALONE IN THEIR APARTMENT AT THE END & DOING SOMETHING THAT WILL BRING THEM CLOSE TO ONE ANOTHER AGAIN, WE GET A GOOD FEELING THAT THEY WILL FOLLOW PINA'S ADVICE. I JUST HOPE THAT THE CINEMA VILLAGE WILL HAVE A SPECIAL SCREENING OF "THE PEOPLE UPSTAIRS," THE SPANISH FILM ON WHICH THIS FILM IS BASED. THEN WE WILL BE ABLE TO SEE HOW MUCH MATERIAL THE SCREENWRITERS, WILL MC CORMACK & RASHIDA JONES, GOT FROM THAT FILM, & HOW MUCH IS THEIR ORIGINAL WORK.

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JOHN FRANCIS FOX
3 out of 5 stars

TOUCHING FILM STUMBLES FOR A WHILE; THEN REGAINS ITS FOOTING BY THE END

August 16, 2026
SOME OF THE BEST FILMAS OF ALL TIME ARE ONES IN WHICH THERE ARE ONLY A FEW CHARACTERS ON SCREEN SO , BY THE END OF THE FILM, YOU ARE LEFT FEELING THAT YOU HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH ABOUT HE CHARACTERS. THE FILMS LIKE THAT WHICH COME IMMEDIATELY TO MY MIND ARE, "AUTUMN SONATA," "WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF," "LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT," & 'NIGHT, MOTHER,." & "INTERIORS." ALTHOUGH "THE INVITE" CERTAINLY ISN'T ON THE LEVEL OF THOSE FILMS, DIRECTOR OLIVIA WILDE (WHO ALSO STARS AS ANGELA) WISELY CHOSE TO KEEP THE FILM POPULATED ONLY BY ANGELA, HER HUSBAND, JOE (SETH ROGEN), & THEIR UPSTAIRS NEIGHBORS, PINA (PENELOPE CRUZ) & HAWK (EDWARD NORTON). THIS GIVES US THE PRIVILEGE OF LEARNING HOW EACH OF THE CHARACTERS SEES SITUATIONS FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVES. WE FIRST SEE THIS WHEN JOE COMPLIMENTS ANGELA ON HOW GOOD SHE LOOKS IN WEARING ONE OF HIS SHIRTS, & ANGELA SAYS, "YOU COULD TELL ME THAT ONCE IN A WHILE," & AS SHE WALKS AWAY, JOE CALLS OU,T "I JUST DID!"