“The Invite” (2026) is an English language remake of “The People Upstairs” (2020), which was originally titled “Sentimental,” which was an adaptation of a play called “Els veïns de dalt,” which is Catalan for “The Neighbors Upstairs.” There is also an Italian remake, “Vicini di casea,” which translates to “Neighbors” (2022), a Swiss remake, ”Die Nachbarn van oben,” which translates to “The Neighbours from Upstairs” (2023), a French remake, “Et plus si affinities,” which literally translates to “More if it goes well,” but the English title is “Maybe More” (2024), and a South Korean remake, “The People Upstairs” (2025). Unfortunately, all of the foreign films are unavailable to be viewed in the US. A contentious married couple, Angela (Olivia Wilde, who also directs) and Joe (Seth Rogen), host another couple, Pina (Penelope Cruz is styled with bleached blonde hair showing roots and is scorching hot) and Hawk (Edward Norton, his sauce matches her sauce), who live upstairs. The visiting couple return the favor with an invitation of their own. How they respond to each other will change their lives forever. Wilde’s third film is a delightful, prurient look into the private lives and fantasies of others while embedding an important lesson about the dangers of settling into routines as if they are a permanent state of being.
Just from looking at a trailer of the Spanish film, “The Invite” comparatively feels less about three-dimensional ordinary people in an outlandish situation only speculated or rumored about, not suddenly carried out or casually within reach. Instead, it feels like a bunch of actors pretending that their characters are normal, which is not a bad thing. Successful actors are people too, so it is fun to imagine that we are actually getting insight into their lives, not fictional characters. Tabloids exist for a reason, and why not let the subject of those tabloids leverage that prurient impulse into professional success. It is easier to do here since Wilde’s personal relationship overshadowed her second film. “Don’t Worry Darling” (2022), which I still have not seen despite my love for Florence Pugh. One day!
Wilde is an interesting actor who impressed me with “Booksmart” (2019). Because this work has fewer locations and less actors, Wilde throws a lot more effort into the composition of each shot to wordlessly communicate the relationship between the characters from moment to moment, which constantly changes over the course of the film. Some may find it overdone and overedited since it is very obvious. So, ask yourself about where people are positioned in a space, is a person with someone, how far away are they from the other person in the room or the other people in the apartment, etc. Film is about showing more than telling so in this case, overdoing it is a good thing. Wilde’s character, Angela, behaves similarly. She uses the apartment as her main way to express herself and set the stage to fulfill her social needs. Everything is external for Angela so naturally because she desires Pina and Hawk’s life and connection, having them occupy her space and receiving their approval becomes crucial for her existence while her husband is just an obstacle to reaching this goal.
Rogen sets the tone for “The Invite” and opens the film. The opening shows a home movie sequence that is not clearly visible, but features Angela’s voice, and later in the film, Hawk describes a turning point in his life that sheds light on that sequence, but instead of inspiring change, Joe seems to be suffering under a life sentence as he makes the joyless, arduous journey from work to home. Joe struggles with a bike that is later revealed as a gift from his wife, which is an early sign of disconnect. She envisions one life for him, and he endures it while complaining instead of just rejecting or accepting it joyfully. It is a dynamic that gets repeated throughout the film, and if Rogen did not play the character or Wilde did not show sympathy with validating his weariness in the opening sequence, Joe’s miserable demeanor would be unforgivable.
Angela and Joe are supposed to be ordinary people because they have a kid, quarrel and follow the general dynamics of a CBS sitcom, hot wife cosplaying as a drab domestic frau and ordinary guy except anyone with an apartment like theirs in San Francisco is about as average as Tom Hiddleston in “The Life of Chuck” (2025), but it is easier to swallow because compared to Hawk and Pina, they are downright average. Pina is a therapist, has an accent and is sexy. Angela has every button on her shirt buttoned while Pina has the girls out for the night. Pina’s sexuality is a focal point for “The Invite” and is the driving force for every character performing as a litmus test for each character. Angela sees her as aspirational. Joe finds Pina, as a disembodied presence in a pair to be annoying and unwelcome, but invigorating one-on-one. For Hawk, she is his partner, a second chance at a better way of living. In the original film, the actor playing the original Angela is from Argentina otherwise everyone else is from Spain so an exoticism perhaps verging on stereotype exists inherently within the casting, but considering that Cruz is a seasoned actor, she probably would not take a role that exploited her.
Pina is a puzzling figure. She is perceptive and uncompromising, yet she professes to feel a connection to the couple. Why? It is a clue that she is not as centered as she appears but feels the need to be superior and has a weaker sense of self outside of her profession so she needs messed up people to feel more like herself. Still she holds the key to the night, “People forget they deserve more…” (There is more to the quote, but I cannot read my handwriting.) Pina and Hawk live out this adage. Angela wants to, and Joe does not think it is possible, which is why Hawk vexes his spirit.
I never noticed it before, but Norton’s face has similar features to Dustin Hoffman. His character is amused at the whole situation. Pina and Hawk are aware of and enjoy the effect that they have on Angela and Joe. Hawk and Joe are opposites in every way. Norton is the kind of actor that can work in such a low-key register that sometimes it feels as if he is playing himself, but then that would be a sign that you missed his earlier era of playing more dramatic roles. It is nice to see him in a comedy for a change, and he does the hard work of being a straight man in a film with bigger characters. If “The Invite” is worth a rewatch, it would be to focus on his understated performance as the hot retired firefighter.
The biggest surprise of “The Invite” was the audience’s desire to debate where the characters would go after the movie ended. Because they never felt viscerally real, but reality distilled for film, it was a question that never crossed my mind. I did ask how a high school music teacher and a housewife could afford to renovate their apartment. Come for the swinging, stay for the existential crisis.
