THE INVITE (2026)

Olivia Wilde follows the poorly received Don’t Worry Darling (2022) with one of the most critically beloved films of the year. Directed by and starring Wilde, and written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones (Celeste and Jesse Forever), The Invite is a tight 107-minute character study that rarely strays from one location.

Adapted from Cesc Gay’s Spanish film The People Upstairs (2020), The Invite is a tense exploration of a failing marriage, highlighted by the introduction of sexually liberated neighbours. It’s the type of grown-up comedy that rarely makes the big screen anymore.

Joe (Seth Rogen) is a miserable, brutally honest, failed musician. He’s zoned out of everything in life, including his marriage to Angela (Olivia Wilde). Angela is a stay-at-home mother to a 12-year-old; having given up on her own aspirations, she now pours all her love into shopping for home décor.

Angela decides to invite their upstairs neighbours, Pína (Penélope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton), round for dinner. Joe isn’t impressed—mainly because he’s been kept awake by the sounds of the couple’s boisterous lovemaking—but Angela is keen to connect with their “cool” neighbours. While Joe has formed a one-sided feud with the couple upstairs, Angela is desperate for them to like her.

Over the next 100 or so minutes, the film follows how this dinner party goes awry. Don’t expect any massive twists or turns, or for the trailer to have hidden any major secrets. There is one revelation that shifts the film’s trajectory and alters the tone, but it feels totally natural and an almost inevitable conclusion to their night. The Invite brings together four brilliant actors, playing lived-in characters, in one apartment over a single evening. While the concept is simple, nothing about the film is basic.

Joe, Angela, Pína and Hawk feel like people we all know and, infuriatingly, see ourselves in. Scripts can often be scared of making their protagonists dislikable, but The Invite proudly presents a room of annoying adults. Joe is the type of man whose anger at life is misdirected at others, while Angela has a pathological need to impress, even if it’s through cured meats and rugs. Hawk is smug as an enlightened man of the world, while Pína’s European, psychosexual talk intimidates the room.

The script knows that, in these situations, everything is subtext. Someone bringing a flan that is better than the host’s soufflé means far more than meets the eye; an argument between a married couple is far more than just a disagreement; a compliment on a rug hits deeper than it should. The Invite actually allows people to sit in the subtext, never feeling the need to explain itself.

McCormack and Jones have put together a deceptively complex character study of middle age, wrapped in a sex comedy. While all the talk of failing marriages, adventurous sex lives and psychotherapy could weigh an audience down, The Invite injects a large dose of relief-inducing humour right when it’s required. The script understands the relief of a good laugh when the tension ramps up, but it’s the observational comedy where the writing truly shines. If you’ve ever been in a social setting and had to hold your tongue, this is the movie for you. These characters say exactly what they mean out loud, and from that honesty comes some of the best observations in Western cinema in years.

But don’t be fooled into thinking this is another raunchy, crass sex comedy. Underneath the gags and sex positivity is a heartfelt exploration of middle-aged malaise. No topic is off the table, from chats about perimenopause to the hard truths of managing a life you didn’t choose for yourself.

The Invite feels like a film for grown-ups—something American cinema often struggles with compared to its European counterparts. It’s fast-paced and demands audiences keep up with the mile-a-minute dialogue. One glance away from the screen and you’ve missed another snide remark, another look between characters, or another great gag. It’s refreshing to use your brain and interpret subtext, rather than watching writing that panders to those scrolling on their phones.

A single-location character study relies entirely on strong performances, and this cast is up to the challenge. Predictably, Seth Rogen takes his grumpy schmuck schtick to the next level as Joe, but he also proves he can more than handle dramatic material. Olivia Wilde is also excellent as the antsy Angela, her big blue eyes frequently darting across the room and her thin frame often curling in on itself. While it’s no surprise that Rogen is hilarious, Edward Norton—better known for serious roles—delivers some of the film’s funniest moments. Cruz, looking as spectacular on screen as ever despite a peroxide wig, plays up her Spanish flair as the type of confident woman many of us want to be. You can completely understand why this seemingly normal couple feel totally intimidated by their sexually adventurous, open-minded, well-travelled counterparts.

Director Wilde has had a bumpy career behind the camera. She burst out of the gate with the vibrant Booksmart (2019), before controversy and a certain pop fandom dampened Don’t Worry Darling. But The Invite more than cements her as a talent to be taken seriously. The film is dedicated to “Diane”—a nod to the late, great Diane Keaton. This film feels exactly like that type of 70s irreverent Keaton dramedy that is as heartfelt as it is hilarious.

USA | 2026 | 107 MINUTES | 1.85:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH

Cast & Crew

director: Olivia Wilde.
writers: Will McCormack & Rashida Jones (based on the 2020 film ‘The People Upstairs’ by Cesc Gay).
starring: Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz & Edward Norton.