Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde’s A24 film ‘The Invite’ finally gets HBO Max release date
A24’s ‘The Invite’ is heading to HBO Max this fall. The film will make its U.S. streaming debut exclusively on HBO Max on Friday, October 23, before its HBO linear premiere the following day. The release gives audiences two ways to watch the film shortly after its theatrical run. ‘The Invite’ stars Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton. Wilde directs the film from a screenplay by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones.
The story follows Joe and Angela, a married couple whose evening takes an unexpected turn. Their situation only gets more complicated once they decide to invite their upstairs neighbors, Pina and Hawk, for dinner, hoping to make friends. Joe is a jazz band teacher at a San Francisco conservatory, while Angela is his wife staying at home. The relationship between them has become difficult, with frequent conflicts and quarrels.
Angela invites the neighbors to dinner because she wants to get to know them and make friends, while Joe sees the gathering as an opportunity to confront them about the noise coming from their apartment. Joe thought differently about how he could cope with this problem: first, he wanted to tell Pina and Hawk about the noise bothering them, while Angela asked him not to lose his temper. It turned out to be impossible after the neighbors arrived because the hosts were quarreling and felt increasingly uncomfortable.
The evening takes another turn when the neighbors reveal details about their unconventional relationship. Their revelations force Joe and Angela to look more closely at issues they have been avoiding. David Permut, Ben Browning, and Megan Ellison produced the film. The cast brings together actors known for comedy, drama, and adult-oriented stories. The film uses the dinner setting to place the four central characters in increasingly uncomfortable situations.
In essence, the dinner becomes the defining moment in the lives of Joe and Angela. Their interactions with Pina and Hawk make them realize some elements of their marriage they have ignored. Rather than simply addressing the noise issue, the dinner leads Joe and Angela to confront the state of their marriage. Joe's relationship with music becomes an important element toward the end as well, as he returns to playing the piano after stopping earlier. Eventually, Angela joins him, giving the film a softer ending. 'The Invite' leaves the relationship in a different position from how it was at the start.
