Vernon
‘The Invite’ stars Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogan, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton.
Submitted Artwork
As experts of true relationships state, “The relationship we start out with is not the same relationship that we end with.” Makes total sense to me, as every healthy relationship is naturally meant to evolve, not just sit stagnant.
That is the exact issue facing Joe and Angela’s longtime marriage, which has grown stale and beyond contentious. Wanting to spice up her mundane daily existence, Angela, played pitch-perfectly by Olivia Wilde (“Don’t Worry Darling”) in her career-best character performance so far, against her grouchy hubby’s wishes, reluctantly invites the enigmatic upstairs neighbors, Pena and Hawk, over for a unique dinner party.
I find socializing as adults in general can be rather awkward for many reasons, especially when one must introduce spouses, etc., into the mix. Just like the food on the menu at this dinner party, Penelope Cruz (“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”) and Edward Norton (“Primal Fear”) as the overly sensual neighbors are delicious to watch onscreen together, to put it lightly.
For a stooge like me who gets invited almost nowhere, this was one invitation I was glad I RSVP’d to. At times unnerving and uncomfortable to watch, the viewer feels almost like an unsuspecting fly on the wall. “The Invite” was funny as hell and came with some rather surprising territory that unfolds. So far at least, this naughty and brutally honest dark romance just so happens to end up being one of this year’s best pictures.
“The Invite”
Starring: Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogan, Penelope Cruz, Edward Norton
Christopher’s “Meow” Score: “9” paws out of 10.
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Christopher Vernon is a proud NEPA resident and award-winning writer and author. He began writing film reviews on his page ‘The Movie Meow’ in 2018. His favorite two films of all time are ‘Thelma & Louise’ and ‘Million Dollar Baby.’ And of course, you guessed it, Chris adores cats.