The Art of the Marital Brawl

Twelve million dollars. That is what A24 paid to secure the rights to The Invite after a bidding war erupted at Sundance, a testament to the film’s ability to turn the quiet, suffocating tensions of long-term marriage into a high-stakes thriller. For screenwriters Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, the project represents a return to the kind of brutally honest storytelling that defined their 2012 breakout, Celeste and Jesse Forever.

While Celeste and Jesse explored the messy aftermath of a breakup, The Invite—an adaptation of Cesc Gay’s The People Upstairs—dives into the endurance test of staying together. Directed by Olivia Wilde and featuring a powerhouse cast including Penélope Cruz and Ed Norton, the film tackles the unglamorous realities of middle age: fertility struggles, financial strain, and the slow erosion of desire. It is a film that refuses to rely on the typical tropes of the genre.

“We both have an internal cheese meter we’re constantly checking in with,” Jones told Variety. “Conversations have to feel like ones real people have. The poetry has to come from the truth.”

Consulting the Expert

To capture the nuances of marital friction, the duo turned to renowned psychotherapist Esther Perel. The collaboration wasn't just a research exercise; it fundamentally shifted how Jones and McCormack approached the script’s central conflict. The goal was to move past the "rage-bait" that often characterizes domestic dramas and instead find the path toward acceptance.

“We want people to evolve, and we want to forgive them,” Jones explained. “Those relationships start to get into trouble when we can’t show acceptance. When you can, even if it’s at different paces, that’s an argument to get married.”

For McCormack, the process was personal. He noted that while their previous work focused on the heartbreak of love, The Invite is about the "heartbreak of life." It is a distinction that grounds the film in a reality that feels both painful and, ultimately, hopeful.

From Marriage to Cat and Mouse

Perhaps the most unexpected turn in the duo’s career is their current project: a feature-length Tom and Jerry film for Warner Bros. Animation. To Jones and McCormack, the legendary rivalry is not just a series of slapstick gags—it is a relationship comedy.

In their vision, the cat and mouse are rescued by two people who fall in love. Tom and Jerry then spend the duration of the film attempting to sabotage that romance, driven by a desperate need for attention. “It’s a rom-com in the style of La La Land,” McCormack said. “Why are these characters fighting so much? Because they want to be seen, and they want to be loved. The logline of our film is literally ‘Love is worth fighting for.’”

Key Takeaways

  • Authenticity over tropes: Jones and McCormack prioritize an "internal cheese meter" to ensure dialogue reflects the messy, unvarnished reality of long-term relationships.
  • Therapeutic influence: The duo consulted relationship expert Esther Perel to deepen the emotional stakes of The Invite, focusing on the necessity of acceptance in marriage.
  • A new lens on animation: The writers are framing their upcoming Tom and Jerry film as a relationship comedy, arguing that the duo's iconic violence is rooted in a desire for love and validation.

As The Invite moves into its wide release, the industry will be watching to see if this specific brand of emotional honesty can continue to command high-value distribution deals. For Jones and McCormack, the focus remains on the same core question they have been asking since they first sat down at a laptop together: what makes a connection worth the fight?