Who Invited Charlie? 2022

During lunch at a bustling restaurant, Phil Schreiber’s girlfriend Jess walks out on him, declaring they’re done. He gives chase into the street, only to collide with a Christmas parade and knock over an elf. In the ensuing chaos, his wallet disappears, and it’s scooped up by his friend Charlie. Later at a bar, Phil shares a drink with Charlie, who insists he saw something but didn’t pick up the wallet. They also run into Trey Reynolds, Phil’s former partner who has since become a competitive threat to his business.

The story unfolds against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic that grips the world in early 2020, when hand sanitizers are a daily fixture, shaking hands feels risky, and many people work from home via Zoom. Phil is no exception, and his home office life is complicated by his son, Max Schreiber, a wary and anxious teen who is chasing a girl named Annie through Instagram. One night, a flurry of pebbles taps Phil’s bedroom window, and Charlie appears, claiming he found Phil’s wallet and insisting on staying at the house, reminding Phil to keep his affair quiet from his wife.

Charlie moves in, carving out a small space for himself with a designated room. He smokes weed and begins to connect with the neighbor Emma, while Max pokes around Charlie’s things and is caught, though forgiveness soon follows. Max asks Charlie for dating tips and confides an interest in Annie; Charlie responds with practical advice and helps him craft a meme. Max posts the meme online, and Annie leaves a comment, giving the teen a small victory in a precarious world.

As tensions rise at home, Phil spirals into drinking, and Trey’s competitive pressure begins to bite—he’s poaching Phil’s clients. Charlie reveals another layer to the family dynamic by admitting he works as a gym teacher at a middle school. Dinner that night becomes charged as Phil confesses that his business could be in jeopardy while Rosie Schreiber, Rosie Schreiber, quietly acknowledges the strain in their marriage. Rosie reveals she has known about Phil’s girlfriend, and in a painful twist, confesses she slept with Trey as revenge.

Rosie decides to leave, packing her bags and heading to her brother’s place as Phil and Charlie argue. Unbeknownst to them, Max slips away on a bus, and Phil goes after Rosie, hoping to find him. They eventually track Charlie down and learn that his wife, Sarah, has died recently, deepening the emotional undercurrents. The search leads them to a party in Dumbo, where they spot Annie; the group then follows a tip that Max might be at risk somewhere near the East River. A tense moment near the Brooklyn Bridge ends with Charlie, Phil, Rosie, and Max reuniting after Max explains he had a panic attack and needed to be found.

Back at home, there’s a glimmer of hope: Max is open to boarding school as a possibility, and Phil agrees to seek therapy while Rosie remains willing to give their marriage another chance. The film closes with a quiet, tentative note of healing, as Emma and Charlie continue to connect—an invitation to a future that could be calmer and more honest than the one they’ve just left behind.