‘The Invite’ Review: Olivia Wilde’s Cringey Marital Comedy is a Welcome Return to Form
I’ve been waiting for Rashida Jones and Will McCormack to pen a new banger since Celeste & Jesse Forever in 2012. That film (along with Ruby Sparks) introduced me to the tragic rom-com at a time when indie movies were just hitting my palate. Hell, when Toy Story 4 announced their involvement, I pushed all my chips in – until the Lasseter-run white boys club at Pixar screwed that up. Now, at long last, their first co-screenplay in 14 years arrives with The Invite, which feels like an evolution of their prowess: trading a divorcing couple for one that might call it quits by morning. An English adaptation of Cesc Gay’s 2020 The People Upstairs, the film is the kind of adult rom‑com that’s largely absent from today’s landscape. Olivia Wilde, fresh off the Don’t Worry Darling misfire, is back in the director’s chair, scaling down to a single-set chamber piece that captures adult marital dramedy. Tense, deliciously cringey, hilarious, and sexy, it’s a throwback to the sophisticated pantheon of the late 20th century. Wilde directs the hell out of this chamber piece about a couple on the rocks who can't just be chill when their hot neighbors come over for dinner and give them the best proposition ever. And the result is a sharp, compelling return to form for the Booksmart filmmaker — and we all know how that ended up for me.
Image copyright (©) Courtesy of A24
MPA Rating: R (for sexual material, language throughout, and drug use.)
Runtime: 1 Hour and 47 Minutes (107 minutes)
Language: English
Production Companies: Annapurna Pictures, FilmNation Entertainment, Permut Presentations
Distributor: A24
Director: Olivia Wilde
Screenwriters: Will McCormack, Rashida Jones
Cast: Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton
U.S Release Date: June 26, 2026 (Limited), July 10, 2026 (Wide)
The marriage between hapless, cynical Joe (Seth Rogen) and neurotic, high-strung Angela (Wilde) is hanging by the tiniest of threads. His cynicism stems from a failed music career – now he teaches at a music conservatory in the Bay Area, still living in his childhood apartment — and his constant negative energy wears on Angela’s sense of self. When he arrives home one evening, he’s gaslit by remembering a dinner plan with their mysterious upstairs neighbors. In comes Piña (Penélope Cruz), a seductive, chill therapist, and Hawk (Edward Norton), a humble fireman. As the night unfolds, Joe and Angela start digging daggers into each other, until Piña and Hawk extend an invitation that challenges them to keep it together long enough to seize their ultimate opportunity.
Olivia Wilde powerfully turns an apartment becomes an emotional pressure cooker.
(L-R) Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde | Credit: Courtesy of A24
Directing-wise, Wilde gets her groove back, channeling Nichols and May (and, taboo as it is to say, early Woody Allen. Fuck Allen, but the visual strength of his early work is there) through intricate, inspired framing. She must have a PhD from Cube University because her blocking game is unparalleled, turning the apartment into a full playground, making every step of this slow-burning get-together feel like a real-time snapshot. DP Adam Newport-Berra (one of the best at making an interior a character; see Splitsville and The Last Black Man in San Francisco) captures iciness through long, wide shots, amplified by Jade Healy's production design, which flips the space from cozy home to comedic battleground in a snap.
The camerawork is textured and precise, heavy on varied angles, and rarely relies on close-ups. It keeps you at a distance until a close-up traps the characters, making you both a voyeur until you’re an interrogator. Even when a character is caught in 4K with a secret unveiled, their spouse lingers in the background, out of focus, and their seething rage is viscerally felt. I’m very mixed on comedies utilizing reactionary shots, so I’m happy to say some of The Invite’s best moments stem from them, like Rogen’s judgmental brow at Angela’s lies and Wilde’s shock at Joe’s out-of-pocket comments. Each look screams, “Can you fucking not!?” and perfectly captures this couple’s brink of smashing that divorce button.
Jones and McCormack finds comedy in every marital fault line.
(L-R) Edward Norton, Penélope Cruz Credit: Courtesy of A24
The Invite hinges entirely on the dynamics between two different types of insufferable couples, and watching that “stuck between a rock and a hard place” clash lends to stellar comedy. It’s marital Darwinism in real time, and Jones and McCormack squeeze hilarious entertainment out of the pairing. Though around the same age, it’s like watching the new guard and old guard of marriage collide. Joe and Angela are familiar with their grumpy husband/neurotic high‑strung wife dynamic, and Jones and McCormack’s killer script crafts a tense crackle from the moment Joe walks through the door with a negative attitude, only for Angela to unload her manic prepping on him. Same with Hawk and Piña; while they seem fine and healthy on the surface, they get under each other’s skin in their own way. Both couples are annoying as hell. One is classically argumentative; the other is the couple that got bitten by Millennials and adopted their sensibilities. Piña stealthily vapes at any mild inconvenience and is a vegan. Hawk is so woke he’d rather say “firefighter” than “fireman” and loves contentious settings.
The writing duo ups their game, coaxing the distinctiveness of each couple’s qualities and overwhelming flaws. But ever so often, Joe and Angela reach a level of awkward comedy crosstalk, repeating what they hear while registering in an “erm” response. But when they back off and get to the nitty-gritty of their dysfunction, they provide true, moving character work. It makes me want to rewatch Celeste & Jesse and also hunt down their Toy Story 4 draft.
Everybody understands the assignment.
(L-R) Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, Penélope Cruz Credit: Courtesy of A24
The Invite is a fantastic acting showcase across the board. This might be Rogen’s most mature, transformative performance yet; he drains his usual charm and replaces it with dry, cynical misanthropy. He’s basically a modern Al Bundy in a Rogen package (still a pothead, with the occasional slapstick beat), and somehow it’s both detestable and exquisitely funny.
Wilde, pulling double duty as co-lead and director, gives herself room to play Angela’s neuroticism and franticness to the point of zero self-esteem. It’s heartbreaking to watch her lose herself through unsure body language and blushing shyness. The film ends with a dedication to the late Diane Keaton, and she truly delivers a classic Keaton-style performance, down to the vulnerability balanced with eccentricity. I happened to see this back-to-back with Gregg Araki’s upcoming I Want Your Sex, where she plays a confident hypersexual artist, and it’s a complete 180.
Norton and Cruz are sublime as their foils. Norton is effortlessly charming as the way-too-nice Boy Scout you want to punch in the face. Cruz is commanding, and she practically leaves the couple drenched in sweat. The script flexes Piña’s hotness hard; Angela’s in full bi panic mode while Joe quietly thirsts. And it’s Penélope Cruz as a sexologist. What more do you need? One standout scene has her seducing someone while singing Sade’s “By Your Side,” and the other person’s response is just “thank you for this.” It’s as painfully funny as it is sexy, but it’s easily the hottest thing I’ve seen captured on film this year. Wuthering Heights wishes.
LAST STATEMENT
Smart, sexy, and wickedly uncomfortable, The Invite marks a triumphant return for Olivia Wilde and delivers the kind of sharp, adult relationship comedy Hollywood has been missing.
