Ruben Rosario, miamiartzine.com movie critic, poses in front of the iconic Music Box Theatre during the 13th Chicago Critics Film Festival.
By South Florida standards, it was a chilly weekend in Chicago. Even though it was the beginning of May and technically spring, the Windy City lived up to its name at the start of the 13th Chicago Critics Film Festival. The temps were cool, and so, for the most part, were the movies showing at the iconic Music Box Theatre.
My every-other-year vacation destination did not disappoint: happy hour drinks at the Music Box Lounge, a leisurely stroll down Magnificent Mile, catching up with a South Florida friend who's called Chicago home for quite some time, a spirited drag brunch at Roscoe's Tavern and a farewell breakfast with an actor I've long admired. I even had time to play hooky from the Music Box to catch a multiplex showing of (the solid, criminally underseen) “Mother Mary.”
But the highlight, as well as during my 2024 trip to attend the 11th CCFF, was the Music Box itself, one of the best places on this planet to catch a movie, including 35mm screenings of David Cronenberg's “The Fly” and Steven Spielberg's “A.I.” as part of this year's lineup. The storied venue also draws A-listers and filmmakers spanning the entire showbiz totem pole.
Penelope Cruz as Pina, Olivia Wilde as Angela, Seth Rogen as Joe and Edward Norton as Hawk in a scene from "The Invite." (Photo courtesy of A24)
Two of this year's selections are comedies with a sobering undertow, one a remake of a screen adaptation of a stage play from Spain, the other a comedian's tour de force with a tip of the hat of John Waters and George Cukor. Both selections were directed by their stars, and both place their portraits of domestic malaise under a microscope. They're also out in South Florida theaters this weekend. Let's take a look.
“The Invite”: The vibes are unmistakably late '60s/early '70s, but the hangups are timeless. The third feature directed by Olivia Wilde is a chamber piece that harks back to an earlier era of relationship comedies. Its scenario, one with a hook that's not spelled out right away, nevertheless speaks to the here and now in its depiction of the travails of middle-aged coupledom.
The opening scenes, showing harried music teacher Joe (Seth Rogen) biking to his San Francisco apartment, only to have an unwelcome surprise sprung on him by his wife Angela (Wilde), spell out d-i-s-e-n-c-h-a-n-t-m-e-n-t in big block letters. We feel Joe's stress and frustration when Angela, who's working overtime to make sure the dining room table and her entire home look spotless, casually drops that she's invited the couple living upstairs for din-din.
Edward Norton as Hawk and Penelope Cruz as Pina in a scene from "The Invite." (Photo courtesy of A24)
Joe's resentment boils over. You can almost see the smoke blowing from his ears as the bickering threatens to spill over into a fight. And it's all a bit much, a snapshop of high-strung people that is itself more than a tad high-strung. The staging is competent, the performances on point, but you feel the sweat from Wilde behind the camera, striving to make sure, like Angela, that she makes the best possible impression. You appreciate the effort, but more than anything, she's just making you tense.
But “The Invite” involves two couples, and balance is restored when Angela and Joe's neighbors, Pína (Penélope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton) come downstairs for a visit. Pína, a therapist and sexologist, exudes confidence and quickly takes the temperature in the room. Hawk, a retired firefighter, is mellow and soft-spoken, a sea of calm that this busy movie sorely needs. In case you're wondering, I am Team Hawk all the way. This is Norton at his most relaxed and charming.
But back to this awkward dinner party. The elephant in the room is the fact that Joe and Angela, and most likely their 12-year-old daughter who's away at a sleepover, have heard Pína and Hawk's loud lovemaking, So Angela's dinner invitation may have unwittingly doubled as a chance for the two couples to clear the air. Pína and Hawk would certainly like to extend an olive branch, and it's considerably more, um, physical than their neighbors were counting on.
Olivia Wilde, star and director of "The Invite," talks about her experience making the film during its opening night premiere at the 13th Chicago Critics Film Festival.
“The Invite” hits its high point when Pína and Hawk float the possibility of a couple swap. The proposal unlocks something in both Angela and Joe: the promise of a release for the floundering couple that could recharge their batteries. As the four of them set up ground rules, you can feel Wilde finally finding her footing.
Wilde and screenwriters Will McCormack and Rashida Jones adapted “The Invite” from Catalan filmmaker Cesc Gay's “The People Upstairs,” itself an adaptation of Gay's 2020 play. The director-star has done a commendable job of making her new film's single setting feel dynamic while still embracing the stagebound confines of her source material. Joe and Angela's apartment at several intervals becomes the most interesting character in this piece. Perhaps the movie's MVPs are editors Anthony Boys and Yorgos Mavropsaridis, whose jagged rhythms are sometimes reminiscent of the great Dede Allen.
“The Invite” could have gone wrong in so many ways. Another filmmaker could have honed in on the temperamental chasm that sets apart these couples as a springboard for a broad farce that hews closer to “Meet the Fockers” than “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.” But Wilde sidesteps this potential pitfall, and the “hard sell” approach of the film's early scenes gives way to something more nuanced and wise, with just a smidge of the bitterness of “Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
The film is ultimately too tame, and not nearly as heteroflexible as it could have been, when it comes to depicting intimacy between these couples who discover they have plenty to learn from one another. This is a feature-length couples therapy writ large, not a frank portrayal of carnal constipation. Wilde pulls back from even entertaining the notion of making viewers feel uncomfortable.
John Early as Maddie Ralph in a scene from "Maddie's Secret." (Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
And yet, this is still a marked improvement on her two previous features: the widely overpraised “Booksmart” and the justly reviled (but not wholly unwatchable) “Don't Worry Darling.” This is the strongest showcase to date for Wilde, as a filmmaker and an actor.
To underscore her commitment to this project, Wilde reached into her own pockets to ensure “The Invite” was shot on film. Here's hoping that dedication to preserving her vision, which entails ending “The Invite” on an intriguingly ambiguous note, leads to even more accomplished efforts down the line.
“Maddie's Secret”: Whereas the third time was the charm for Wilde as a feature filmmaker, comedian John Early nails it on his first try behind the camera. The prolific standup pro and small screen vet has crafted a cheeky mélange of camp and angst, distilling the building blocks of a TV movie of the week from the '80s through his own irreverent yet earnest sensibility.
This L.A. story kicks into gear when the title character, food influencer Maddison “Maddie” Ralph (Early, pulling a Divine), goes viral after her husband Jake (the winsome Eric Rahill) records her making one of her vegetarian recipes and posts the video on TikTok.
The clip causes a stir at Gourmaybe, the test kitchen where Maddie works as a dishwasher alongside her bestie Deena (Kate Berlant). Her boss, the horny, thoroughly inappropriate Zack (Conner O'Malley) informs her that the TikTok video is a breach of contract, but he's piqued by the clicks it's gotten, so he gives her a break in front of the camera.
The runaway success that follows should feel like Maddie's dream of a brilliant career is finally coming true, but unbeknownst to the people in her life, this rising star's Cinderella story conceals deep-seated insecurities about her body that at one point in the past manifested themselves as an eating disorder.
John Early as Maddie Ralph and Eric Rahill as Jake in a scene from "Maddie's Secret." (Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
Maddie's internet fame is complicated by a rivalry with snooty Gourmaybe chef Emily (Claudia O'Doherty) and is further exacerbated by interest from the producers of a TV drama who want to consult a Gourmaybe chef to serve as a culinary consultant. It doesn't take long for Maddie's bulimia to come knocking once again.
An egregiously dysfunctional relationship with Beverlee (Kristen Johnston), Maddie's embittered mom, complicates matters even further. It might sound like one crisis too many for Early to juggle, but if anything, I wanted to see more of this spectacularly toxic mommie dearest. Johnston's not onscreen for long, but boy, does she leave a mark.
The heart of “Maddie's Secret,” its title and plot inspired by the 1986 NBC movie “Kate's Secret,” is twofold. The portrayal of Maddie's marriage anchors the movie and gives it a sturdy emotional core. It's clear that Tab Hunter and Divine, who played husband and wife in John Waters' “Polyester,” is very much on Early's mind here, and Rahill's Jake is every bit Maddie's partner. Theirs is a functional, sexually healthy union suddenly put to the test by Maddie's mental health struggles.
But equally crucial here is the stretch of the film during which Maddie checks herself into an inpatient treatment program where she befriends and forms a sisterhood with a motley crew of eccentric patients It is here where “Maddie's Secret” is at its funniest and most poignant.
Also memorable are the sequences where Maddie and Deena go to dance class. The routines are so skillfully choreographed and edited, one wonders how Early would fare if he chooses to make a musical. (Do it!)
John Early as Maddie Ralph and Kate Berlant as Deena in a scene from "Maddie's Secret." (Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
If there's something holding back Early's otherwise swell feature debut, it's the way in which he handles Deena, a constant presence in Maddie's life who nurses unrequited feelings for her. It leaves a bad taste how a movie that stands out for injecting its laughs with compassion resolves this narrative strand. Berlant, who bears a striking resemblance to Kathryn Hahn, tears into a juicy role that, unfortunately, is given a raw deal.
But Early has nonetheless whipped up a tasty dish: a touching character study that's also an engaging ensemble piece. Its queerness is of an easygoing nature, and its shrewd sendup of influencer culture leaves plenty of room for empathy, even to characters like the unctuous Emily and the deliciously wicked Beverlee. It will be interesting to see what happens when Early gets the chance to further grow his claws. Will he be nice, or will he pounce?
“The Invite” is now playing across South Florida, including at AMC Aventura 24, Silverspot Cinema Metsquare in downtown Miami, Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas Coconut Grove, Regal Kendall Village and Regal Dania Pointe. “Maddie's Secret” is playing at O Cinema South Beach, AMC Aventura and AMC Sunset Place 24.
