It’s an…orgy? After winning raves at Sundance earlier this year and the closing night movie of the recent Seattle International Film Festival, Olivia Wilde’s THE INVITE is finally in cinemas. Both myself and our new writer Paul Gratton react to this new movie that is sure to stir up conversation.
About: Directed by Olivia Wilde, the 2026 comedy The Invite follows a stagnant married couple, Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde). When they host their uninhibited upstairs neighbors, Hawk (Edward Norton) and Piña (Penélope Cruz), for a dinner party, the evening spirals into a provocative exploration of their crumbling relationship and repressed sexual desires.
Jason’s Reaction: I have always admired Olivia Wilde both as an actor and as a filmmaker and even with a modest slip-up with DON’T WORRY DARLING a few years ago, the recently released THE INVITE is very best work here in a comedy of manners that is strictly adults fare, but not in the “sexy” way you expect. In fact, this movie opens with an Oscar Wilde quote about marriage that I was really not expecting to set the tone here, and is the rare modern movie that has something to say about adult relationships later in life.
This is a very loose remake of THE PEOPLE UPSTAIRS from 2020 (unseen by me), that has been revised and set in San Francisco with a clever spin featuring four wonderful lead performances. While at first I was getting a BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE vibe (yes I may be dating myself with that movie) this movie then takes very original turns with a potential sexual experience with its characters including two that are far more open than the other. Yet the movie is also smart enough to explore open relationships while at the same time focusing on the scars of a very conflicted couple that do love each other but have not connected deeply in a very long time.
There is a lot to unpack here with all four performances here of outstanding quality but in very different ways; by far this is Seth Rogen’s shining moment and he shows such a maturity and edge here, and yet still retains his traditional laugh and “acting is reacting” style which I have always loved. I was also pleasantly surprised by Olivia Wilde here, who takes reaction shots and visual cues to Rogen throughout to a whole new level (there’s just a way she “looks” at her partner here that shows everything) Edward Norton also has such a great confidence here as the one who initiates the “invite”, but Penelope Cruz, who I feel never ages, is also incredibly sexy and alluring here. I also loved how she flirted with Rogen’s character which also gives some of the movie’s biggest laughs.
On a visual level, this movie is also gorgeous in how it uses its setting. Shot entirely on film by Adam Newport-Berra, the movie has such a lived-in quality in how the entire story takes place in this apartment (along with a short scene in a school gym and a wonderful opening title sequence showcasing San Francisco), but Wilde is also creative in all of the framing of her shots and the overall look and feel, complete with such a great editing style to set tones and reactions (even just the way that Wilde cuts from the opening argument to the reveal of the title is brilliant). I especially loved the use of mirrors in select scenes to show how the characters balance off of each other and even how their different profiles can suggest tension. Many of the lower angle and wide angle shots are also used here perfectly to slightly disorient the viewer.
THE INVITE is overall very smart with all four of its leads having their own unique voices and characteristics. The writers here are Rashida Jones & Will McCormack who crafted a brilliant script in CELESTE & JESSE FOREVER where Ms. Jones starred with Andy Samberg in a lightly similar couple study. Clearly these two have something to say about marriage and the strain it can have on relationships and especially as we get older. And again, this is a movie for smart adults to enjoy together and especially with big laughs throughout along with its piercing look at trying to take your relationships to the next level.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Paul’s Reaction: Wow! A brilliantly acted four-hander about a couple whose marriage is on its last legs, pushed over the edge when the new upstairs neighbours pop by for a visit. This is based on a Spanish play, material that has already been adapted into four separate foreign language films (Italy, France, Switzerland and South Korea). But this Americanized script by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, informed by the writings of psychotherapist Ester Perel, is a true marvel. Rogen is brilliant as the grumpy middle-aged under-achiever who does not feel like socializing with the couple from the apartment above, whose rambunctiously loud love-making sounds keep him awake at night. Wilde is equally believable as a brittle neurotic mother of one who has long-ago lost her loving feelings towards her bitter husband. When the visiting couple propose some friendly couple-swapping, all hell breaks loose, and the cracks in their marriage become manifest in ways that Rogen’s constant sarcasm cannot pave over. Imagine a modern version of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, directed by Robert Altman on crack, with over-lapping dialogue and whip-smart pacing and rhythm. This is brilliantly filmic, and painfully funny, even if 95% of the events occur within one apartment. Some Oscar-calibre acting is on display here. Olivia Wilde seems to be one Hollywood actress who is not afraid to tackle sexually provocative subject matter. Before the end of the summer, we will see her playing a domme to a younger man in Greg Arraki’s I Want Your Sex. She is single-handedly making summer sizzle. See this one with your better half.
Rating: 8 out of 10
THE INVITE is now playing in cinemas.