The Invite

Rating	M18 Mature Content and Coarse Language
Language	Englishwith no subtitles
Genre	Black Comedy, Drama
Director	Olivia Wilde
Cast	Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton
Synopsis	Joe and Angela’s marriage is on thin ice. When they invite their enigmatic upstairs neighbours for a dinner party, the night spirals into unexpected places. Have they reignited the spark or lit the match that burns it all down?

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By InCinemas 01 Jul 2026

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Sometimes when you put different individuals in a room together and just let them have at it, the outcome may surprise you for the better.

We’re not so much talking about the goings on of The Invite but rather the film as a craft in itself. Directed by Olivia Wilde from a screenplay by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, the film stars Wilde alongside Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton.

The Invite, a remake of the Spanish film The People Upstairs (2020) by Cesc Gay, follows married couple Joe (Rogen) and Angela (Wilde). Angela’s decided that she’d like to invite their upstairs neighbours over, surprising Joe with the plan as he arrives home, allowing him no window to cancel or protest. The neighbours are an outspoken sex therapist Pìna (Cruz) and her partner Hawk (Norton). Angela wants to impress them but Joe has strong feelings about their invasive noise so there’s tension there. What starts of as a means to befriend their much cooler neighbours becomes an explosive exposé of a couple amongst strangers.

Both couples couldn’t be more different – Joe and Angela are outwardly bitter and contentious while the sex-positive Pìna and Hawk exude a more carefree and relaxed energy in comparison. Individually, they’re even more diverse than a tin of assorted biscuits. We’ll not spoil the conversations that take place between them but we'll leave you with this: it's a dinner party-cum-orgy-cum-sex therapy. Make of that what you will.

Every interaction between the characters is a marvel to behold, no matter the pairing – this is a huge testament to McCormack and Jones’ screenplay and the chemistry between the cast that just lights up like fireworks. Their back and forth is simply electric, especially when it gets frantic which not only accentuates the energy in the room but also the acting prowess of the cast in going through the spectrum of emotions required of them. Cruz and Norton just seemed effortless in their roles while Rogen on the other hand, turns in his best and most humane performance we’ve ever seen. The best efforts, however, come from Wilde who not only excels as a director on this film but also through her portrayal of the uptight and awkward Angela, a character that may hit a tad close to home personally for the multi-hyphenated talent.

The Invite is an extremely engaging film with relatable characters and a direction that makes you feel part of the conversation. It is extremely hilarious, beautifully executed, but most of all, it’s very adult and unsurprisingly more profound than it lets on. For everyone who's appreciated The Drama, this is the most fun you’ll have at the cinemas.
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The Invite

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