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It opens with a basic epigraph from Oscar Wilde: “One ought to all the time be in love. That’s the reason one ought to by no means marry.” Reduce to: a clearly depressing Seth Rogen, presumably very married certainly. Olivia Wilde’s “The Invite” could begin merely sufficient — marriage is unhealthy, simply have a look at this damaged man — however it virtually immediately shifts into a unique register that makes its comedic aspirations clear. It’s so foolish and so easy: music instructor Rogen’s Joe simply can’t get his goddamn folding bike out of a door, making a spectacle that his college students can solely stare at, one in all them muttering a “what the fuck” for all of us.
However don’t let that simplicity idiot you, as a result of what Wilde is saying right here (with an excellent script by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, who know a factor about relationships gone unhealthy) is one thing a lot larger and bolder. She is aware of precisely what she’s doing, learn how to calibrate between huge laughs and damaged hearts, learn how to use her forged to nice impact, and learn how to shock her viewers at almost each flip. That is lower than two minutes into the film, splendidly setting the stage for the crackling, loopy entertaining ceremonial dinner from hell to come back.
Whereas Joe is likely to be dragging his ass by his downbeat life (folding bike very a lot in tow), his spouse Angela (Wilde) goes by her personal motions, which occur to be amped up by her naturally anxious persona. Angela is getting ready the pair’s gorgeous San Francisco condominium (an impressed setting, rife with each sprawling rooms and a barely off-kilter flooring plan that retains us simply confused sufficient) for one thing uncommon: firm! The long-time couple don’t have many pals and so they don’t have many individuals over, so tonight’s dinner with their upstairs neighbors has supplied Angela with one thing very huge to fixate on.
How a lot does she want one thing to fixate on? She purchased a brand new rug and no less than six sorts of cheese for the event. She is making a fucking soufflé! Joe can’t even be bothered to choose up wine on the best way house. Joe is barely within the door earlier than the inevitably-compared-to “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” antics begin unfolding. Made much more nerve-shredding by Devonté Hynes’ rating, a tense providing that performs out (and loud!) throughout Joe and Angela’s seemingly fixed bickering. However Wilde retains issues pitched simply so, permitting the pair’s worst moments to nonetheless really feel humorous and relatable.
However Angela’s nervousness additionally makes her unpredictable (and unpredictable in a completely completely different manner than Wilde’s different nice Sundance 2026 efficiency), and Wilde quickly faucets right into a pure agility that solely ups the comedic ante in what seems like her greatest efficiency but. (There’s a little bit of bodily comedy, early within the movie, that includes Angela reacting to a ruined dinner with a comedic timing that immediately catapults Wilde to a brand new stage, it’s a five-second second that’s aces sufficient to tell the remainder of the movie to come back). Wilde’s expressive face and massive eyes faucet right into a Lucille Ball elasticity; the movie can be humorous sufficient if it was solely its director handing over such a hilarious efficiency, however she’s hardly alone on this endeavour.
With simply 4 stars within the movie, everybody has to rely, and Wilde hasn’t skimped on her co-stars. Rogen’s Joe will get to play straight man, usually serving as our eyes into an more and more fraught affair. Wilde and Rogen are adequate collectively, after which, oh! Our friends of honor have arrived, Hawk (Edward Norton) and his girlfriend Pina (Penelope Cruz), the much-feared, long-desired neighbors from upstairs, principally recognized to Angela and Joe by the very loud noises of their nightly love-making periods.
If Joe and Angela’s simmering resentment and hard-won affection are one facet of the coin, Hawk and Pina’s weirdo sexuality and wacky intrigue are the opposite. These two are into one another, and one way or the other, they’re additionally into the Joe and Angela present. (Of observe, each are excellent right here, however Norton is taking such apparent enjoyment of the entire thing, he simply manages to edge out Cruz, who nonetheless will get her time to shine later within the movie.)
Why have Hawk and Pina come to this ill-fated dinner? Why does Angela need them there so badly? Why can’t Joe even faux to be an honest host? Eh, nicely, you possibly can most likely guess, simply primarily based on what we all know of the 2 {couples} — depressing marrieds, sexually adventures strangers, and many others. — however Jones and McCormack’s script has a lot of enjoyable getting there, with Wilde’s zippy route and core foursome working their manner by a comedy of manners that ultimately seems like a comedy of errors.
Sensible craftsmanship elsewhere helps the whole lot glide alongside, together with costuming selections from Arianne Phillips that cleverly arrange the {couples} in opposition to one another and cinematography from Adam Newport-Berra that crafts attention-grabbing dynamics in artfully made frames. All of it feels impeccably chosen with out being showy or affected.
As Wilde splits her {couples} and brings them again once more, we’re in a position to see completely different sides of every character and the roles they play inside their relationships. Angela’s nerves make manner for a giddy chemistry with Hawk (the 2 of them bond over, of all issues, their shared love of rugs, one in all many operating jokes that sustain the clip). Joe’s mystified anger is softened by Pina’s simple grace (and, sure, sure, Rogen and Cruz do smoke a joint collectively at one level).
Wilde’s earlier movie, “Don’t Fear, Darling,” was considerably equally pushed by questions concerning the worth of relationships, the price of the lies we inform, the impossibility of actually figuring out somebody, however Wilde solutions those self same questions right here with way more perception and entertaining humor (it can’t be overstated how enjoyable it’s to look at this one in a packed theater). The movie’s third act stumbles a bit, buying and selling in its excessive humor for darker feelings that Wilde can’t fairly as deftly navigate (and with, except I’m very mistaken, a tiny, left-turn thriller concerning the true nature of Hawk and Pina).
Nonetheless, the remainder of this meal (mild on the soufflé, heavy on the jambon) is such a deal with, a really grownup comedy with lots to say and much more laughs to share. Settle for this invite, and quick.
Grade: B+
“The Invite” premiered on the 2026 Sundance Movie Competition. It’s presently searching for U.S. distribution.
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