The Invite – Film Review
Reviewed by Damien Straker on the 13th of July 2026
VVS Films presents a film by Olivia Wilde
Screenplay by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones based on The People Upstairs by Cesc Gay
Produced by Ben Browning, Megan Ellison, and David Permut
Starring Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton
Cinematography Adam Newport-Berra
Edited by Yorgos Mavropsaridis and Anthony Boys
Music by Devonté Hynes
Rating: MA15+
Running Time: 107 minutes
Release Date: the 9th of July 2026
The Invite is the best of the three films Olivia Wilde has directed. Booksmart (2019) was uneven and the sci-fi domestic drama Don’t Worry Darling (2022) was a colossal turkey! Fortunately, this remake of Cesc Gay’s 2020 Spanish film The People Upstairs is a lot of fun. The script by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, who wrote Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012) together, is consistently funny. It also becomes a surprisingly touching view of a doomed marriage. It marks the fifth time Cesc Gay’s film has been adapted. The story has been remade in Italy, France, South Korea, and Switzerland so a US version was inevitable. Fortunately, the charismatic actors make this version its own perfectly enjoyable entry.
In the film Olivia Wilde plays Angela. When her husband, Joe (Seth Rogen), comes home to their cushy apartment she tells him she has invited their neighbours over for drinks. Joe is disgruntled for several reasons. He hates his job as a music teacher and his back aches so badly he immediately lies on the floor. He begrudges the neighbours visiting because he says they have sex too loudly. It is particularly awkward when their guests hear them arguing. Over the course of the evening, they learn Pína (Penélope Cruz, Cruz) is a sex therapist and Hawk (Edward Norton) used to be a firefighter. He now has a strange obsession with rugs! Angela and Joe also realise their neighbours are not only more sexually adventurous but also more emotionally resilient too.
The reason the film has been remade multiple times is because it dramatises the post-pandemic failure to connect with others. Almost the entire story is set within the apartment. The setting and Joe’s reluctance to socialise shows the couple’s insulation. Furthermore, we learn fascinating details about Joe. He used to be in a band, which is why he detests being a music teacher. He also feels embarrassed his parents left him the apartment he grew up in. The closed setting and Joe’s reluctance to entertain suggest he is concealing his inferiority complex and middle-class guilt. Meanwhile, conflict ignites because of Angela’s aggressive need for affirmation. Her desperation to meet others sees her lie about when she invited the guests. Their bickering results in a deeply personal and unexpected revelation about their union. The story is an effective post-pandemic chamber piece and mid-life crisis satire.
Deft stylistic touches reveal how Wilde has matured as a director. She employs a muted, grey colour palette throughout the apartment to show Joe and Angela’s passionless relationship. Similarly, narrow passageways reflect the couple’s insulated nature and how claustrophobic they feel together. Wilde is also effective at building personal tension. A threat is how perilously the pair come to swapping partners. This feeling rises when Angela shows Hawk different paint samples on an unfinished wall. The tense encounter is shot in a medium single take. The unbroken lens frames the incomplete paint job and the couple’s indecisiveness. Wilde’s crowning touch though is a stark tonal shift in the final quarter. The near-wordless melancholy in the end elevates The Invite beyond a clever comedy of manners. The shift in mood dramatises the couple’s realisation that their marriage has failed.
The highly experienced cast offer first-rate comedic performances. This is one of Seth Rogen’s most enjoyable roles. His comic timing and constant quips are regularly humorous. He is also highly adept at physical comedy. Wilde’s expressions are hilarious, particularly when lying. She effortlessly embodies a woman desperate to be noticed. It builds sexual tension between herself and Hawk as they talk, bond, and flirt. Both Rogen and Wilde also take time to show how wounded they are by their union. Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz, Cruz are quietly restrained, which contrasts to their volatile neighbours. A late monologue reminds you of what a brilliant actor Norton is as he explores Hawk’s own grief. Cruz is very subdued until her intensity rises when she realises as a sex therapist that this couple has serious issues.
There is admittedly a touch of predictability around the early beats. We immediately know that Hawk and Pina are here for more than just wine (champagne) and cheese. The film resembles Carnage (2011), which was about couples arguing in an apartment. Nonetheless, the movie is always funny and energetic due to its great performances. It is a pointed depiction of a mid-life crisis as this couple realise precisely why they are so unhappy. Complete strangers open their eyes. Nothing prepares us though for the closing moments where Wild injects surprisingly painful melancholy. We watch the film for the gags and funny actors but remain entirely moved by its poignant conclusion.
Summary: The Invite is the best of the three films Olivia Wilde has directed.
3.5
Strong
About the Author
Damien Straker is a freelance writer and film critic. He studied at the University of Sydney and graduated with an Arts Honours degree in Film Studies. He is a pop culture aficionado and enjoys talking about all films, 90s TV shows, ninjas and watching Rugby League. His favourite film directors are Alfonso Cuarón, Clint Eastwood and Alexander Payne.
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