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?

Credits: TheMovieDb.

Film Cast:

• Joe: Seth Rogen
• Angela: Olivia Wilde
• Piña: Penélope Cruz
• Hawk: Edward Norton
• Doorman (uncredited): Skip Howland
• Bartender (uncredited): Mel Powell
• Subway Goer (uncredited): Rachel Thurow
• Subway Goer (uncredited): Mario Valdez

Film Crew:

• Producer: David Permut
• Producer: Megan Ellison
• Producer: Ben Browning
• Executive Producer: Patrick Chu
• Theatre Play: Cesc Gay
• Screenplay: Rashida Jones
• Screenplay: Will McCormack
• Director: Olivia Wilde
• “A” Camera Operator: Adam Newport-Berra
• Production Design: Jade Healy
• Editor: Yorgos Mavropsaridis
• Original Music Composer: Devonté Hynes
• Executive Producer: Saul Germaine
• Executive Producer: Shayne Fiske Goldner
• Executive Producer: Glen Basner
• Unit Production Manager: Alex G. Scott
• Executive Producer: Alex Astrachan
• Editor: Anthony Boys
• Hair Department Head: Christopher Fulton
• First Assistant Director: Brendan Lee
• Makeup Department Head: Jorjee Douglass
• Art Direction: Sandra Doyle Carmola
• Set Decoration: Adam Willis
• Executive Producer: Chelsea Barnard
• Costume Design: Arianne Phillips
• Opening Title Sequence: Teddy Blanks
• Opening Title Sequence: Trent Howell
• Visual Effects Supervisor: Marek Zelenka
• Music Supervisor: George Drakoulias
• Executive Producer: Andy Kim
• Stunt Coordinator: Tracy Keehn-Dashnaw
• Stunt Coordinator: Jake Dashnaw
• Stunt Double: Simon Potter
• Assistant Art Director: Kiah Hixon
• First Assistant “A” Camera: Lucas Deans
• Second Assistant “A” Camera: Robbie Julian
• Steadicam Operator: Mark Goellnicht
• First Assistant “B” Camera: Craig Grossmueller
• Script Supervisor: Kristin Bree Calabrese
• Sound Mixer: Steven A. Morrow
• Boom Operator: Michael Kaleta
• Utility Sound: Bryan Mendoza
• Assistant Costume Designer: Minnie Garcia
• Costume Supervisor: Valerie Laven-Cooper
• Ager/Dyer: Ian Churchill
• Makeup Artist: Ana Lozano
• Makeup Artist: Cassie Lyons
• Hairstylist: Fríða Aradóttir
• Hairstylist: Gloria Conrad
• Chief Lighting Technician: Len Levine
• Assistant Chief Lighting Technician: James Ginn
• Assistant Chief Lighting Technician: Mark Farney
• Rigging Gaffer: Billy Maria
• Key Grip: Adam Kolegas
• Best Boy Grip: Sarah Shultz
• Dolly Grip: George Santo Pietro
• Dolly Grip: Chris Thrasher
• Key Rigging Grip: Tom Villa
• Grip: Nicholas Franchot
• Grip: Andrew Small
• Grip: Jimmy Viera
• Grip: Tim Finn
• Associate Producer: Rebecca Romanek Holstein
• Production Supervisor: Noelle Hubbell
• Assistant Production Coordinator: Kim Moffat
• Second Second Assistant Director: Tara Hunter
• Production Secretary: Alexandra Garcia
• Key Set Production Assistant: Andrew Hanks
• Set Production Assistant: Lauren Verhage
• Set Production Assistant: Tiffany Wong
• Property Master: Robbie Duncan
• Assistant Property Master: Melissa McSorley
• Special Effects Supervisor: Jeremy Hays
• Special Effects Technician: Ryan Thuotte
• Set Designer: Emma Sparer
• Art Department Coordinator: Katie Hampton
• Art Department Assistant: Tess Hurlburt
• Set Decoration Buyer: Dani Broom-Peltz
• Leadman: Mike Sunga
• On Set Dresser: Josh Ian Elliott
• Set Dresser: Brandon Grice
• Set Dresser: Brent A. Blom
• Set Dresser: Jeff Halvorsen
• Set Dresser: Erika Shea
• Associate Editor: James Panting
• First Assistant Editor: Peter Owen Brook
• First Assistant Editor: Alex Fenn
• Assistant Editor: Che Panoussopoulos
• Music Editor: Timeri Duplat
• Post Production Supervisor: Cheryl Goodbody
• Post Production Supervisor: Jeanette Haley
• Post Production Coordinator: Dilek Osman
• Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Niv Adiri
• ADR Supervisor: Rob Killick
• Sound Effects Editor: Andrew Neil
• Additional Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Ian Tapp
• Second Assistant Director: Dais Kasagawa
• Construction Coordinator: Karen Higgins
• Construction Foreman: Dwight Lowell
• Lead Painter: Nicholas Barragan
• Location Manager: Chris Baugh
• Location Coordinator: Jeanie Farnam
• Transportation Coordinator: David Christenson
• Transportation Captain: John Bojorquez
• Cast Driver: Stefanie Zoric
• Driver: Keven H. Simmons
• Driver: Christopher Flores
• Still Photographer: Atsushi Nishijima
• Extras Casting: Rich King
• Extras Casting: Lou Verdi
• Stand In: Peder Meyer
• Stand In: Daniella Teu
• Stand In: James Henderson
• Stand In: Summer Dawn
• Set Medic: Eric F. Aguilar
• Foley Mixer: Francesca Bourne
• Foley Artist: Zoe Freed
• Foley Artist: Rebecca Heathcote
• Foley Artist: Zoe King
• Foley Editor: Paolo Pavesi
• Foley Editor: Olly Freemantle
• Assistant Sound Editor: Beth Grainger
• Colorist: Damien van der Cruyssen
• Digital Intermediate Producer: Kyle Casey
• Digital Intermediate Producer: James Reyes
• Visual Effects Producer: Raoul Bolognini
• Visual Effects Supervisor: Robert Grasmere
• Visual Effects Production Manager: Yaodong Liu
• Visual Effects Production Manager: Meera Sankar
• Thanks: Zoe Saldaña
• Thanks: Elizabeth Siegal
• Thanks: Breean Solberg Pojunas
• Thanks: Lael Pollack
• Thanks: Evan Goldberg
• In Memory Of: Diane Keaton
• Post-Production Manager: Dylan Hurley
• Second Second Assistant Director: Bryan Gildner
• Propmaker: Joe Drake
• Leadman: Mike Helbig
• Set Decoration Buyer: Katy Shirey
• Propmaker: Chase Vickers
• Set Dresser: Louis Visco
• Sound Mix Technician: Kobi Quist
• Sound Mix Technician: Hannes Wannerberger
• I/O Manager: Jovana Vulevic
• Grip: Robert Barcelona
• Video Assist Operator: Michael Herron
• Lighting Technician: Lyle Kahney
• Lighting Technician: John Lacy
• First Assistant “B” Camera: Patrick McArdle
• Second Assistant “B” Camera: Holden Miller
• Lighting Technician: Brian Minzlaff
• Best Boy Grip: Bryce Myrah
• Grip: Jason Michael Noel
• Camera Loader: Austin Pedroni
• Second Assistant “B” Camera: Anthony Rosario
• Lighting Programmer: Dave W. Slodski
• Lighting Technician: Alan Steinheimer
• Lighting Technician: Mina Stollery
• Lighting Technician: Brent Studler
• Grip: Nik Wendelsdorf
• Lighting Technician: Michael Withers
• Set Costumer: Suzanne Block
• Set Costumer: Jillian Johns
• Costumer: Molly Mitchell
• Principal Costumer: Tricia Yoo
• Dailies Operator: Alberto Gutierrez
• Assistant Editor: Bob Benedict
• Dailies Manager: Ryan Katz
• Assistant Location Manager: Michael Betz
• Assistant Location Manager: Rashod Edwards
• Location Manager: Peter Moody
• Location Production Assistant: Leonardo Navarro
• Orchestrator: Benjamin Louis Brody
• Music Producer: Alec Fellman
• Musician: Alex Jules
• Musician: Kirin McElwain
• Payroll Accountant: Talia Leone
• Post Production Accountant: Dee Schuka
• Production Accountant: Holly McGreevy Scott
• Assistant Property Master: Cindy Mah
• Props: Dave Vega
• Set Medic: Brad Beedle

Movie Reviews:

• Brent Marchant: Nineteenth Century Irish novelist, playwright and raconteur Oscar Wilde, widely known for his witticisms and observations about life, is generally credited for the following arguably astute advice: “One should always be in love. That is the reason why one should never marry.” And it’s most fitting that those very words should eloquently serve as a cinematic epigraph at the start of the latest feature from actress-director Olivia Wilde, her best work behind the camera to date. Based on the 2020 Spanish comedy-drama, “Sentimental” (released domestically as “The People Upstairs”), this American remake presents an incisive, sometimes-brutal, often-cynical look at the subject of marriage through the eyes of a long-wedded San Francisco couple, Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Wilde), when they invite their upstairs neighbors, Piña (Penélope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton), to their place for dinner. Admittedly, Joe and Angela don’t know their guests well, but they certainly seem to know a lot about them and have developed well-defined opinions about them. The sparks start to fly before Piña and Hawk arrive, however, when it becomes apparent that the hosts are ill-prepared for the festivities, a scenario that reveals much about them and the state of the marriage. And, when the guests arrive, they pick up on the emotional turmoil quickly. Their keen observation skills, in turn, prompt a series of hilarious, intense and tension-filled episodes with Joe and Angela and, by extension, within each partnership. To say more here would reveal too much, but suffice it to say that the evening is filled with unexpected and provocative twists and turns that leave both couples drastically changed by night’s end. Their time together is replete with witty and scathing humor that frequently goes for the jugular, as well as moments of deep drama, heartwarming tenderness and stunning insights about one another. While the film occasionally tries a little too hard to evoke viewer responses (especially at the outset), once the picture finds its groove, it effectively fires on all cylinders, thanks to the outstanding writing and stellar performances of the perfectly cast quartet. “The Invite” feels very much like a Woody Allen movie from the days when he was at the peak of his career but without being a blatant copycat. What’s more, given that the bulk of the film takes place on one set, it comes across like a play but never feels the least bit stagey, maintaining a steady pace and effectively holding audience attention. This release defied any expectations I might have had about it going into the theater, a pleasant surprise in itself, but the fact that it shines on so many fronts makes it all the more worthwhile. The picture is admittedly sometimes a little cringey to watch, but it always rebounds, redeeming itself by making you laugh. And that’s one invitation I’d always be eager to accept.
• CinemaSerf: You get a sense right from the start that the marriage between “Joe” (Seth Rogan) and “Angela” (Olivia Wilde) is running on the fumes of what it once was – and that it has been for a while. He returns home from his mundane work as a music teacher to find that she has invited their neighbours for a continental supper. He has no recollection of this having been discussed, but his grump soon has to be restrained when “Piña” (Penélope Cruz) and “Hawk” (Edward Norton) arrive. Not unsurprisingly, they quite quickly read the scenario and suggest that this maybe isn’t the best time, but “Angela” insists that they stay and enjoy some jambon and red wine – oops, he didn’t remember to buy any so they are having to use their secret stash! Rather than settle into a more standard form of polite behaviour with their guests, the couple continue to bicker and snap at each other creating the kind of toxic atmosphere you could cut with a cheese knife. All the while, we are also sensing that their guests have a bit of an ulterior motive too, and that becomes altogether clearer when “Joe” and “Piña” split from the other pair and what now ensues tests the fabric of their marriage(s!) whilst offering us quite an insightful observation of a couple who are cruising along through life because they can’t really be bothered doing anything else. Are they still in love, or even in like? Is their relationship beyond repair or does it just need a kick in the ass? Wilde manages to capture the exasperated wife convincingly and Cruz steals this towards the latter part of this nuptial analysis as her role – that of a counsellor – allows her to make some brutally acerbic comments on the state of her host’s lives whilst also whipping a few cracks in the direction of her own beau whom Norton plays in an engagingly understated fashion. Never correct a Spaniard’s English when she’s in full flow!! The four actors are all on solid form both together and in their pairings and the comedy – of which there is plenty – comes mostly from writing that is sophisticatedly poignant throughout. Though essentially a critique on human relationships, this also takes a pop at the ridiculousness of faddishness too and the denouement has something quite “Tales of the Unexpected” to it, too. It does have something of the theatrical to it and I reckon it would work well on stage. As it is here, though, it’s comfortably on par with Cesc Gay’s original short comedy “Sentimental” (from 2020 and also worth a gander).
• ianrathbone: A stage play refined / Non-monogamy, no shame / Mature hearts only
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