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. Have they reignited the spark or lit the match that burns it all down?
Rated 3.6 / 5 from 6 logs on Katalog
I don't usually go to the cinema alone but I actually enjoyed it Found myself laughing out loud for second-hand embarrassment and I liked that everything was happening in a not so small apartment (although I am still confused about that window and the fact that they are upstairs neighbours, whatever) I'm obssesed with Olivia Wilde's hair
I somehow had low expectations for this one. I barely stand movies that should be plays in theaters, I barely stand these kind of family-couple-dramas at all, to be honest. I also barely stand Seth Rogen, matter of fact I didn't stand him at all. So, in order to enjoy this film, since we were at the cinema and @tuttifunghi also paid for the ticket, I detached from reality and forced myself not to think that it was Seth Rogen the bearded man appearing in front of me on that screen, and it worked. I genuinely enjoyed it, it was fun, entertaining, also emotional at times, nothing to be taken too seriously, but a good play, no, movie, after all. The ending was predictable and yet it still warmed my heart. Olivia Wilde's performance was great, and so, I think, the others', even though I barely stand also Edward Norton's face. I might have a problem with many people I don't know, now that I think about it. Towards the ending, when the movie was supposed to be very quiet, maybe even completely silent, we could hear some kind of ancient explosion of doom from the adjacent room: it was The Odyssey, but I was glad I was enjoying The Invite instead. Nothing deeply memorable, but I would watch it again to have some fun.
A fun time! I felt very engrossed by the whole movie, laughing and feeling second hand embarrassment and crying too, at the end. It wasn't anything too mind blowing, when you show relationships it's hard to portray something new but I think it still works and it was worth it to be created. Also, can we please have a vegan character that is also not a health freak? I just want to avoid eating animals, but give me gluten and sugar please
Pretty fun performances, but after a while I found myself thinking - they're all basically playing what I perceive to be an exaggerated version of themselves, at least based on what I've seen in interviews. Is that just great casting, and does it make a great film? I'm going to complain about what I always complain about: spaces. This film is set entirely in one apartment. They give us a tour of the whole apartment. Despite the grand tour, I have absolutely no concept of what this apartment's layout is. How is that possible? Rooms just seem to exist, windows look into other rooms, but I have no idea how the layout is or if that's possible. I think it's because there aren't great uses of depth through rooms, long diagonals, or shots in motion walking from one into another. I think the set should be another character, but it's barely used here. I wonder if they thought about how the space contributes to each scene and why each shot is framed the way it's framed. The first 15 minutes of the movie used wonderful shots, people in mirrors, cut off and framed in unusual ways, but those stop after a moment and it's back to Generic American Cinema. I used to be an architect so I may be the only person who cares about this. ||I had no idea what this film is about, so when the "my marriage sucks, what shall we do? I know, group sex!" topic was revealed I had to sigh. It always feels written, to me, by someone who is in that situation, and therefore idolises the experienced polygamous couple, who are of course portrayed as joyful, wise and enlightened, because the writer projects themselves onto the subject matter, because monogamy is for clumsy, stressed, unhappy people. Triggers me because it comes across as preachy and condescending, but maybe I'm reading into it|| Penélope Cruz is amazing, Olivia Wilde was really good and made me nervous as hell. Edward Norton and Seth Rogen were essentially just themselves, I believe. So, fun watch, with a couple of very uncomfortable moments, but I don't think long-lived.
Good performances (Penelope Cruz is pure aura, Olivia Wilde fantastic, her best I’ve seen), there are some funny moments (not by Seth Rogen who I found unfunny as always, but more heartwarming that usually), and it wasn’t boring, but I don’t see how this story benefited from being a movie. I feel the single-apartment concept wasn’t done interestingly enough to justify the format, I’d rather watch it as a play instead. I’m also not really interested in marriage topics, so perhaps that doesn’t help For context: my 2.5 stars means: - it’s fine but I didn’t reaaally need to see it - I don’t regret watching it but I wouldn’t recommend it either
||spoiler here|| I absolutely loved it! At moments it feels like you're watching a theatre play, the music setting the tone perfectly. Adding melody from Carmen the opera totally loved. The whole way of tackling a vulnerable situation of a couple who doesn't know to communicate through the lenses of also vulnerable topic - sex and sex desires, was brilliant! Seth Rogan was a perfect choice to present how sarcasm serves as a self-defence and can harm the relationship. Penelope Cruz always brings the amazing energy. Edward Norton amazing. This might be the best performance of Olivia Wild I've ever seen. All in all great movie.
