Monday Moments - The Invite

 I watched an episode of Hot Ones on YouTube and Penelope Cruz was the guest. She was pushing this movie The Invite, and it sounded intriguing.  

Well, it was different, angsty, very all talkie, amusing at times, cringe worthy, and I can't recommend it. 

But - I was interested enough to stay and watch. Does that make sense?  This was a Thursday matinee and there were two other ladies in  the theater. As we were leaving, the one said, "Well, I guess I'm not allowed to pick a movie for awhile."     Ha!

Olivia Wilde directed this and also starred as Angela.  She's married to Joe (Seth Rogan).  She's invited the upstairs neighbors to dinner. Joe is not happy and pretty much promises  to be rude. 

 Ding dong - doorbell rings and here's Hawk (Edward Norton) and Pina (Penelope Cruz).  They are obviously very cool and exude an exotic flair.  Here's where  Penelope shines - she just pops on the screen. She has the best lines and you can tell Joe is feeling her vibe. 

Well the conversation does take a racy turn....I won't say more. But  the tempo of the movie picked up, the stress of the awkwardness heightened, and let's just say someone might need to move!

Hey - the theater was air-conditioned and I killed two hours. I did laugh out loud at some lines - Seth can be amusing in his delivery.  And thumbs up to Penelope - she is damn hot and a good actress. 

This was my public service announcement for you. 

Movie Review - Booksmart

On the cusp of graduating high school, besties Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) are good girls with valedictory grades and grand plans. But their little world has assumed that their loser classmates are doomed to failure. However, a confrontational conversation in the school bathroom has Molly learning that her party animal classmates are headed to Ivy League schools.

She turns to Amy and vows to make up for lost time - to go to that last big party at the coolest kid's house, to go wild. These girls "have a mad, cartoon-chipmunk chemistry, playing characters who know each other so well that they finish each other's sentences and step on each other's lines. What their friendship needs is a little room to breathe. Booksmart is smart about that too. " ( Time 6/3-6/10/19)

Directed by actress Olivia Wilde, Booksmart is a coming of age tale for girls. It's exaggerated, funny, and endearing chaos.  "Nobody knows that we are fun, " laments Molly. I could identify with that as a total nerd in high school.

Booksmart can be silly and it crams a lot into it's 100 minutes,  but I was amused and laughed out loud several times.  Lots of pop culture references ring true, and the young actresses are perfect for their roles - attractively nerdy and average. Sometimes the foul language is a tad much, but that's often true these days. I could overlook it.

This might not be one for the theater for my blog friends, but don't roll by it when it's in your queue at home. It's smart enough and you don't have to read it - Booksmart!