The Invite

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: A couple who are experiencing fissures in their marriage entertain another couple in their apartment one evening. Things get tense, and more than a little bonkers. We mention the stock setup of director Olivia Wilde’s funny, occasionally filthy comedy of manners only to emphasize how wonderful the payoff is — it’s the sort of one-location, star-driven ensemble piece that could have merely been a theatrical exercise, and somehow manages to avoid being either stagy or stodgy. Even more impressive is how the actors sync up their own unique performance styles; you wouldn’t think that Seth Rogen’s signature heh-heh-heh stunted-bro persona would mesh with Edward Norton’s ironic take on another egocentric blowhard or Penélope Cruz’s sultry chilliness. But like a supergroup, they somehow find a rhythm that makes the disparate parts sound better together.-Rolling Stone “It seems that the chance to watch a genuinely funny and uncommonly intelligent comedy for adults is an invite we have all been waiting for.”-Guardian