The comedy streak at the Sundance Film Festival continued Saturday with the world premieres of the art world satire “The Gallerist,” with Natalie Portman, and Oliva Wilde’s “The Invite,” a sharp look a crumbling marriage.
“The Invite,” which debuted at the Eccles Theater, marks Wilde’s third time behind the camera and first since “Don’t Worry Darling.” It received an enthusiastic standing ovation.
Will McCormack and Rashida Jones wrote the script for “The Invite,” in which a couple on the edge (Wilde and Seth Rogen) have their upstairs neighbors (Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton) over for dinner. The evening starts with awkward small talk and becomes a raw and revealing encounter that’s funny and devastating at times.
“Several of the greatest moments of this movie were written by the cast,” Wilde said after the premiere. “We shot in order, which was incredible. … It was such a luxury.”
There was also quite a bit of improv, Wilde and Rogen said.
“I think there’s a seven-hour movie that you would have liked,” Wilde said.
Wilde has had a busy Sundance so far. On Friday night she helped debut the new Gregg Araki movie “I Want Your Sex,” in which she plays an eccentric artist and sexual provocateur.
Following “The Invite” was Cathy Yan’s “The Gallerist,” starring Portman as gallerist Polina Polinski attempting to make a name for herself at Art Basel in Miami, with the help of her assistant (Jenna Ortega), who gets involved in a plot to sell a dead body.
“It was such a great original concept that felt really juicy and perfect,” Yan said after the movie, with Portman, Ortega and Charli xcx by her side.
When an audience member asked if Portman took the role for personal reasons, she quipped, “I’ve never tried to sell a dead body before.”
Zach Galifianakis plays an influencer and Da’Vine Joy Randolph is an emerging artist in the starry cast, which also includes Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sterling K. Brown and Daniel Brühl.
The Eccles also hosted the premiere of “Wicker,” starring Olivia Colman as a sardonic fisherwoman who commissions a basket weaver to maker her a husband, played by Alexander Skarsgård, who co-stars in the Charli xcx movie “The Moment.”
All of the films are seeking distribution at the Sundance Film Festival, which runs through Feb. 1.
