INVITE, THE
(director: Olivia Wilde; screenwriters: Will McCormack, Rashida Jones/based on a Spanish play ailm by Cese Gay; cinematographer: Adam Newport-Berra; editor: Yorgos Mavropsaridis; music: Devonté Hynes; cast: Seth Rogen (Joe), Penélope Cruz (Pina), Edward Norton (Hawk), Olivia Wilde (Angela); Runtime: 107; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: David Permut, Ben Browning, Megan Ellison; A24; 2026)
“Really funny.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
The actress-turned-filmmaker Olivia Wilde (“Don’t Worry Darling”/”Booksmart”) directs and stars in this snappy dramedy on sex, marriage, group sex and free love. It’s really funny, thought-provoking, sophisticated and smartly written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, whose screenplay is based on the Spanish 2020 film by Cese Gay, “The People Upstairs.”
It hilariously opens with the quote by Oscar Wilde: “One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry.”
The film is set in San Francisco, in a large luxury apartment inherited by the middle-aged Joe (Seth Rogen), who is in a long-time, loveless and quarrelsome marriage with Angela (Olivia Wilde).
Angela invites their new upstairs neighbors, the slightly older Hawk (Edward Norton) and Pina (Penélope Cruz), an unmarried hipster couple, over for dinner, as she’s turned-on hearing through the ceiling Pina having loud orgasms but knows nothing else about the couple. Hawk’s a retired firefighter, with a cockiness and self-confidence, and Pina’s an open-minded and unfiltered sex therapist.
We learn Joe was in a rock band as a youth that almost made it big, hates his music professor job in a reputable music school even if most would consider it cool, is sarcastic, embittered and world-weary. While Angela is a nervous wreck who stays home with their 12-year-old daughter and spends her time shopping and needlessly decorating the apartment, especially with her passion for rugs.
The foursome sits down to a low-key dinner, that starts with a tray of imported cheeses (but the snack is spoiled because the spiteful Joe forgot the wine Angie told him to get after work). What follows is a free-flowing conversation about any topic that crosses their minds, and that brings up some awkward moments.
Then Joe smokes a joint with Pina in his office, and Angela gives Hawk a tour of the apartment.
The couples when together again talk about their relationships, their insecurities, their needs, anger and pain. The hosts are uptight and miserable, while the older couple are loose and happy. Eventually the invites say they’re open to a foursome, feeling it can sometimes save a marriage in distress.
The film can be viewed as an updated Edward Albee “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” or perhaps a Woody Allen comedy for the left coast (the film is dedicated to the late Diane Keaton).
It’s a well-acted, well-produced, mature, witty, biting and very funny adult film that I thoroughly enjoyed.
It played at the Sundance Film Festival.
REVIEWED ON 2/6/2026 GRADE: A-
dennisschwartzreviews.com