'The Invite' is an Acting Four Way You Won't Want To Miss (CAPSULE REVIEW)

What happens when you invite the neighbors from hell for dinner? Worse yet, what if it’s not them but rather you who’s the insufferable one. The Invite is an actor’s play that works remarkably well as a movie. It should be no surprise that this movie is adapted from a play, as it all takes place in one small apartment. The film succeeds in maintaining the audience’s engagement as the screenplay continually ups the ante with increasingly absurd situations. It plays its comedy at a breakneck, dialogue-driven pace, like an Aaron Sorkin screenplay if it were full of sex jokes. Although starring Seth Rogan, The Invite isn’t entirely a comedy. It doesn’t look like one, and certainly doesn’t end like one. But it earns consistent laughs throughout its running time.

The Invite has the elements of many predictable comedies, yet it decides to land itself in a more ominous direction. Although throughout most of the movie you’ll feel pretty good, laughing along at each awkward moment after the next, it’s the final few moments where you may realize that this isn’t just some other crazy situation movie. It doesn’t end with everyone learning how to be happier or more interconnected; rather, it leaves them feeling miserable, wishing they hadn’t made the decisions they did throughout most of the picture.

Some of the best movies are the ones that leave room for an interpretive ending. It’s up to the viewer to become a storyteller rather than just merely a consumer. Will things work out in the end, or won’t they? Most films would give you a bit of hope. The Invite devilishly yanks the rug out from under the audience.

Shot on 35mm film, the movie carries the spirit of a 70s New Hollywood flick, where the image is a little dirtier and the ending message may not be the typical Hollywood bed of roses. But if you stick with it, you’ll get something much more meaningful and hilarious than your typical sentimental, feel-good slop.

Full review coming in June. The Invite played as part of The Chicago Critics’ Film Festival and will be released in theaters nationwide on June 26.