Title is wrong. Should be plural. InviteS. Is that a spoiler? No, it’s a tease!

Have you and your mate ever invited another couple over for a visit and realized in short order that it might’ve been a bad idea? Maybe even before the other couple arrives?

Angela (Olivia Wilde) and Joe (Seth Rogen) invite their intriguing upstairs neighbors Piña (a blonde Penelope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton) to join them in their San Francisco apartment for dinner and drinks. Or did they? Joe is confused about the details of the invite and doesn’t seem to remember agreeing to it. 

When the neighbors show up, there’s some initial discomfort as they feel each other out. Not literally—that’s later in the story!

Joe is a frustrated music teacher who once played in a pop music band. Angela is a frustrated visual artist. Hawk is a retired fireman whose current interest is rolfing, a massage therapy. Pina is a sexologist. These are not boring people.

Thanks to an excellent script and talented actors who can convey those lines in skillful ways that make this conversation seem real, the audience listens in on an evening that goes in multiple directions: some hilariously funny, others tense and uncomfortable. 

The elephant in the room is Hawk and Piña’s noisy lovemaking. Will it be addressed? And will it lead to other, possibly dangerous, developments? And maybe another sort of invite?

The apartment itself is a key element of the movie with scenes occurring not just in the main living area. Sometimes a movie set within a limited area can feel like a recycled stage play. The Invite does not. A new rug in that living area gets a good amount of attention. A window in the downstairs apartment provides small views into the upstairs apartment. And, just as importantly, it offers views of Joe and Angela’s apartment from upstairs. Scenes occur in the kitchen, the hallway, Joe’s office and the bedroom.

The Invite is clever and amusing but some moviegoers may cringe when the talk takes a shift to the carnal. How open-minded are you? 

Another qualm: Seth Rogen. He’s funny. But he’s also big. And loud. Would an less boisterous actor have filled that role better? Topic for future discussion!

The Invite is directed by Olivia Wilde whose previous directing efforts include Don’t Worry Darling and Booksmart. The script is by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones (Quincy’s daughter!), adapted from a Spanish film.

The Invite is rated R.