Movie Review: ‘The Invite’ | Moviefone

(L to R) Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde star in ‘The Invite’. Photo: A24.

Opening in theaters in limited release on June 26 (expanding on July 10) is ‘The Invite,’ directed by Olivia Wilde, written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, and starring Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton.

Release Date: Jul 10, 2026

Run Time: 1 hr 47 min

Related Article: Olivia Wilde Set to Join Pedro Pascal and David Harbour in ‘Behemoth!’

Initial Thoughts

(L to R) Olivia Wilde and Seth Rogen, Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz star in ‘The Invite’. Photo: A24.

Channeling the spirit of Mike Nichols, Olivia Wilde’s third directorial effort is a triumphant comeback from the misfire that was ‘Don’t Worry Darling,’ a four-person chamber piece about marriage, sex, love, mortality, and communication that is deeply hilarious, uncomfortable, and ultimately sad.

Sort of a kissing cousin to Nichols’ ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’, the script by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack – based on Spanish writer/director Cesc Gay’s 2020 film ‘The People Upstairs’ – digs deep into the fabric of relationships, what makes them work, and what makes them crumble, while also touching on our consistent inability to see others or even see ourselves clearly. Filled with bracing performances from all four leads, including its director, ‘The Invite’ is an intense, bitter, funny gem.

Story and Direction

(L to R) Olivia Wilde and Seth Rogen star in ‘The Invite’. Photo: A24.

‘One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry.’ That quote from Oscar Wilde is the first thing one sees in ‘The Invite,’ and it clearly has ramifications for Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde), whose own marriage is quietly imploding.

The couple live in a large, expensive San Francisco apartment, which is only possible because Joe inherited it from his parents. Angela is a would-be photographer who has shelved her dreams to be a full-time homemaker (their daughter is off at a sleepover). Joe was once a musician – his former band even had a hit single once – but now doesn’t play music and doesn’t allow anyone to touch the piano in their home, while he vacantly toils as a professor at a mediocre music school.

(L to R) Penélope Cruz, Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, and Edward Norton star in ‘The Invite’. Photo: A24.

Angela and Joe’s conversations are laced with low-key insults, contempt, and sarcasm, and neither seems to care much about the other’s needs. This comes to an early boil when Joe comes home, his back aching, and is informed by Angela – who’s put out a massive charcuterie and stacks of cheese — that he forgot to bring home wine for the guests they’re having over that very night. He doesn’t even remember being told about the invite.

The guests are the new, attractive, somewhat mysterious couple upstairs, Hawk (Edward Norton) and Pína (Penélope Cruz), to whom Angela wants to apologize for some recent noisy renovations. Joe, however, wants an apology from them – for the loud, screaming sex they have every night that Joe, Angela, and their daughter have to listen to.

Director Olivia Wilde on the set of ‘The Invite’. Photo: A24.

When Hawk, a retired firefighter, and Pína, a sex therapist, show up – as effortlessly stylish, put-together, and confident as Joe and Angela are rumpled, awkward, and scattered – the tension is palpable from the start. Angela keeps shutting down Joe’s attempts to bring up the erotic noise, while Hawk keeps subtly egging Joe on to be honest. Angela’s frenzied attempts to offer the guests something to drink, Joe’s barely repressed anger, and Hawk and Pína’s almost preternatural calm make these early scenes both unsettling and darkly side-splitting.

Although ‘The Invite’ has a structure and setting that might make one assume it was originally a play, Wilde directs all this brilliantly, constantly moving the camera and resetting the angles in ways to emphasize who’s in the power position from moment to moment. She also shoots from outside the windows of the apartment (one window in particular has enormous significance later on), adding a voyeuristic element to the narrative that also gains in importance later on.

(L to R) Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz star in ‘The Invite’. Photo: A24.

About halfway through, ‘The Invite’ goes from cringe comedy to sex farce (no spoilers). Things take an even wilder turn at first, with each character revealing unspoken truths about themselves. But the film pivots again in the third act, changing into something more melancholic, bittersweet, and moving, as Joe, Angela, Pína, and Hawk peel even more layers from each other, exposing pain, inadequacy, grief, hidden desires, deep regret and disappointment. The entire cast rolls with this beautifully, as does Wilde’s direction, with the understated score from Devonté Hynes carefully finding a balance between the earlier sense of dread and the later, sadder moments.

There’s very little that doesn’t work perfectly here, with the gradual change in tone leading to a denouement that is somber and yet somehow optimistic. We couldn’t take our eyes off ‘The Invite’ for a single moment, and walked out feeling like we knew these people and could relate to each of them in some way, as peculiar as some of them are.

Cast and Performances

(L to R) Penélope Cruz and Olivia Wilde star in ‘The Invite’. Photo: A24.

There are only four people in ‘The Invite,’ and each one does fabulous work. This is easily Seth Rogen’s finest performance yet, a masterful blend of misanthropy, self-loathing, sadness, and sarcasm in a man who hides his anger and disappointment behind a wall of defensiveness, indifference and endless complaining. Joe is deeply unlikable, but also disturbingly relatable thanks to Rogen’s earthy presence.

Olivia Wilde is just as strong as the neurotic, exhausted Angela, desperate for any human contact and empathy, and keeping her emotions and her desires bottled up for far too long while worrying that her life has reached a dead end. Meanwhile, Penélope Cruz has never been more alluring as the seductive Pína, yet she provides the film with warmth, soul, a sharp intelligence, and a way of getting to the heart of the matter that’s fascinating to watch.

Finally, Edward Norton is slippery and unpredictable as Hawk, who seems effortlessly confident and comfortable in his own skin and appears to have a bottomless well of understanding, but is also hiding a secret or two of his own. His soliloquy about his name is a showstopper in a way you don’t see coming.

Final Thoughts

(L to R) Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz, Olivia Wilde, Seth and Rogen star in ‘The Invite’. Photo: A24.

There’s a lot you don’t see coming about ‘The Invite,’ like the way almost every joke lands perfectly and is an expression of character rather than situation. Or how the film starts as a cringe comedy and gradually evolves into something deeper and more poignant, as we get to find out more and more about who these people really are.

But perhaps the biggest surprise of all is that this little movie, taking place in one setting with just four participants, tackles some of the most difficult issues facing adults who have reached a certain stage in their lives and feels unforced, natural, and honest throughout. Impeccably acted and directed, ‘The Invite’ is caustic, humane, moving, and one of this year’s best films yet.

‘The Invite’ receives a score of 95 out of 100.

Penélope Cruz stars in ‘The Invite’. Photo: A24.

What is the plot of ‘The Invite’?

Joe and Angela’s marriage is on thin ice. When they invite their enigmatic upstairs neighbors for a dinner party, the night spirals into unexpected places. Have they reignited the spark or lit the match that burns it all down?