Some movies need explosions, chases and a ticking clock. The Invite needs only a dining table, a few bottles of wine and two couples who should probably have stayed in their own apartments. Olivia Wilde’s third film as a director arrived on HBO Max this week, and it is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about picks for a quiet weekend on the couch.
A simple setup with a lot of pressure behind it
Seth Rogen and Wilde herself play Joe and Angela, a married couple whose relationship is running on fumes. Every small comment seems to land like a slap, and every silence feels a little too long. Into this tense home walk the upstairs neighbors, played by Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz, who have been invited down for dinner. They are relaxed, confident and very open about what they want from life, and that openness slowly tips the evening in directions nobody at the table planned.
The script comes from Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, the writing duo behind Celeste and Jesse Forever. It is a remake of the 2020 Spanish comedy The People Upstairs, a film that travelled well enough to inspire versions in Italy, South Korea and Russia. The basic engine is the same: a closed room, four adults, and a conversation that keeps going one step further than it should.
Why it works better than it sounds
Dinner-party comedies are an old genre, and the risk is always that they feel like filmed theatre. Wilde avoids that by keeping the camera close and the rhythm loose. Rogen does what he does best, playing a man who jokes to avoid saying anything true, while Wilde gives Angela a restless energy that makes it clear she is done pretending. Norton and Cruz, meanwhile, seem to be having a wonderful time as the guests who know exactly which buttons they are pushing.
Early reactions describe the film as warmer and more honest than its premise suggests. It is frank about desire and boredom inside long relationships, but it never treats its characters as punchlines. The laughs come from recognition: the small grudges, the passive-aggressive kitchen remarks and the moment when someone finally says the thing everyone has been thinking.
A step up for Wilde as a director
Wilde made a strong first impression with the teen comedy Booksmart and then took a darker, bigger swing with Don’t Worry Darling. The Invite feels like a return to the sharp, character-driven comedy of her debut, only aimed at grown-ups dealing with mortgages, routines and the question of whether love can survive comfort. Several critics are already calling it her most confident work so far.
Who should press play
If you enjoy films like The Break-Up or Carnage, or you simply like watching talented actors trade barbs around a table, this one is an easy choice. It is not a family movie, so save it for after the kids are asleep. And maybe do not watch it on a first date. Or maybe exactly on a first date, if you want to find out quickly how your companion handles uncomfortable honesty.
The Invite is streaming now on HBO Max.