"The Invite"

To fit the very casual summer aesthetic, The Invite hit theaters in June after a great showing at Sundance, and has seen nothing but positive reviews. The film is a remake of the Spanish comedy, The People Upstairs. The film, at its core, deals with the protagonists' complex relationship with their infamous upstairs neighbors.

The film, even though hilarious, delivers a well-rounded emotional performance. By the end of the film, I went through a full emotional cycle of tears and laughter. I left the theater wondering why I loved the film so much. I recommend it to everyone I meet, and I do think it is the movie of the summer, but it is not a movie that leaves you feeling weighed down as you leave the theater.

There were a lot of big movies this summer: The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, to name two, but The Invite is refreshingly relatable.

The main characters, played by Olivia Wilde and Seth Rogen, are going through marital discord as they struggle to stay friends, parents, and partners. Their neighbors on the other hand, played by Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz, bring an energy that is light and erotic – a direct contrast to our protagonists. Desperately trying to understand her own relationship and make new friends, Wilde reaches out to invite the upstairs neighbor and asks them to come over for dinner. Edward Norton delivers a refreshing performance as a humorous fireman with some emotional baggage. Cruz is his extremely well-put-together but sensual girlfriend.

Besides playing a key role in the film on screen, Wilde was the main director as well. It is hard not to see Olivia Wilde's own marriage to Jason Sudeikis, especially during the opening sequence, which features an Oscar Wilde quote: "One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry.”

Even though the film is based on a previous piece, the screenwriters Rashida Jones and Will McCormack added their own flare to the script. In an interview with NPR, McCormack talks about how they made a sex comedy that wasn't really about sex. "It's about wanting to be seen and heard and valued," he says. "You live with someone for so long, and it's really hard."

When asked about their working relationship, Jones and McCormack respond in a tone that is a great insight into their energy together as writers. Jones explained that they write alone and together, but overall, " We're in an open relationship as writers, a very healthy, open relationship."

So what makes the film so inviting? The theater was not only packed but full of people of all ages who came to laugh. With a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, it's safe to say that the film has been well received, but why?

In a wave of more human-focused movies, The Invite comes at a time when viewers seem to want to laugh at their own struggles. Politics is weird, prices are high and people just want to laugh. Which is exactly what The Invite does; it turns difficult and awkward conversations into a joking matter. The Invite seems to be doing so well because it's actually funny. It is not obscure, David-Lynch-funny. Seth Rogen is back doing what he does best, and there are no questions about what is funny or successful, because unless you're really beyond help (more than the average person)... you're laughing.