The opening night of The Chicago Critics Film Festival soared with laughter. Olivia Wilde’s The Invite received acclaim for its comedic impact and resonated strongly with audiences. Obscure, prolific, and creatively enticing. Wilde’s vision has clever insanity written all over The Invite. An all-star cast in a dynamic where a dinner evening goes awry. With multiple marital issues and messy disagreements, the story is written in a way that gets fun right. The Invite is so inviting due to frequent quirks which are not overly serious. A genius approach from Wilde. 

The film begins with a couple, Angela (Olivia Wilde) and Joe (Seth Rogen). They feel compelled to have their neighbors over for dinner. However, their dysfunction is written all over the initial scenes of the film. Annoyances abound with arguments related to issues from chores to wine. There is much more on the table than just dinner. The couple who joins them are Pina (Penelope Cruz) and Hawke (Edward Norton). They can sense that Angela and Joe are having issues. Therefore, they try to involve themselves in lifestyle conversations. During the course of events as the evening goes awry, desire and pleasure come into play as well.

Pina and Hawke try to compare themselves to Angela and Joeprimarily by helping them to explore what makes them angry. To be honest, their issues are common first-world problems. Wilde’s direction effectively creates volcanic eruptions based on the impulsive characteristics of each character. This is what makes The Invite so great. Tensions are created yet there is plenty of joy and quirk to be had while navigating the variousegos. The couples may be out of their league, but the actingresults in a satirical grandeur of entertainment that is unforgettable. Couples collide and happiness is a lie. The Invite shines with glory. Four out of four stars for The Invite.