15 July,2026 08:48 AM IST | Mumbai | Mayank Shekhar
(Clockwise from bottom left) Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, and Penelope Cruz in the comedy film ‘The Invite’
Even by laughable measures of India's censor board - that ought to be a joke among functional democracies - the way you watch Olivia Wilde's The Invite in local theatres is bizarre still.
There's a static scroll on the screen, the size of subtitles, all through the movie, that warns: Smoking/drugs/alcohol is injurious to health. Only, there's max a minute in the movie, when the characters are actually consuming drugs/alcohol.
I suspect the censor board's collective, unsolicited review is that if these people in the picture weren't under the influence of substances - none of what occurs in the plot would ever take place! Which is?
There are two neighbouring couples. They spend time together over a dinner-party at home. The hosting couple is boringly married (Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde); the other, bohemian/free-spirited (Ed Norton, Penélope Cruz).
The latter practices ENM/ethical non-monogamy. He (Ed) is resetting his life, with modern lust. She (Penélope) believes humans live to desire, and be desired.
There's seduction, but no manipulation. Between them, I learnt a new word, compersion, i.e. feeling unconditional joy from a partner's sexual happiness.
The way the said night progresses is the film itself that starts with another friendly scroll/advice on the screen, attributed to Oscar Wilde - "One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry!" This sets the tone for a comedy of manners that follows.
I ask an unintended corollary. If initial discovery/acquaintanceship is what makes a relationship so exciting, anyway - why not simply float in the fling, until you move on?
That's what those "seeking short-term relationships" mean on a dating-app bio - termed "situationship" among Gen Zs; described in early Facebook years as, "It's complicated"!
No such complication in The Invite. Couples seem emotionally committed. Based on the 2020 Spanish comedy, The People Upstairs (titled Sentimental in the opening credits), The Invite is a chamber piece - one location, few actors, jabbering away, yet holding you with the pausesâ¦
You're hooked, for the script, and characters - shorn of any spectacle getting in the way of the audience, and supremely gifted actors, bringing their absolute A-game together. There's no
other way.
So true for The Invite. The filmmaking is mainly in the camera work. The scenes are, on occasion, framed/lensed through windowpanes. You gently peer in. As pure storytelling, it remains my favourite genre.
The world's greatest film in it could well be Sidney Lumet's Twelve Angry Men (1957, courtroom drama). My own underrated favourite is, perhaps, Istvan Szabo's Taking Sides (2001, political theatre). The play plus pic, Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf?, might be more the template for The Invite.
While all the parts are equally important, I suspect, it's Seth Rogen's that elicits easier character-study. Self-deprecating Seth (The Studio) is a star in the old Bollywood sense - he seemingly plays himself. And you love him for precisely that. The literally sheepish laugh, for instance, is inimitable.
Seth's a guy dealing with realities of middle-aged ordinariness. For all the ambitions he must've once harboured for his musical talents - he feels like a loser, living in a property inherited from rich parents; a fact he conceals, and that might surprise most wealthy Indians!
The true star of The Invite is, of course, Olivia Wilde, who's both brilliantly enacted and directed it. Making this a comeback of sorts since her sophomore directorial, Don't Worry Darling (2022), that was, evidently, talked about more during its making than on its reception.
Olivia really proved her filmmaking wares with the sassy directorial debut, Booksmart (2019, Prime Video) - about two nerdy Gen Z girls, on their first, wild night-out - that gave me a rare peek into current high-school campus culture.
The script's so simultaneously smart and authentic, that the film should hit cult-grade, once this generation grows older, and regards its value.
The only question on my mind was if Olivia's producers had sought permission from AR Rahman, before using the opening riffs of âHumma Humma' in Booksmart! The Invite's produced by A24, who know a thing or two about landing indies at the Oscars.
The Invite would've hardly been acclaim/award worthy, if it went all the way with orgies, or couples swapping spouses. It must dig deeper into what makes a marriage wear off with time - although nothing half as serious as, say, The Marriage Story (2019).
Up to you, if you consider that a cop-out for a thoroughly conformist conclusion, or just a dark, dry comedy still. I saw The Invite as a mainstream film on unconventional sex - with nobody in my desi hall letting out that uncomfortable giggle in an awkward silence.
There's no sex for the censors to care - only conversations. Can't be too sure, but I think these adults, especially married ones, were leaving quietly, wondering what would they do - if offered the same invite as in the film.
Mayank Shekhar attempts to make sense of mass culture. He tweets @mayankw14
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