From 3/30/2026 press screening:
"Everything is on the table."
You’ll never know what you’ll find when you invite your neighbors over.
The tagline of the movie is right, “It’ll be fun.” But whatever you may guess about “The Invite” from the suggestive trailer, the film will take you to unexpected places.
Angela’s (Olivia Wilde; “Don’t Worry Darling,” “Tron Legacy") and Joe’s (Seth Rogen) marriage has been on the rocks for a while. Angela has an art degree that she’s never used professionally, although she’s put that to good use by artfully decorating their apartment. Joe used to be in a band and was a one-hit wonder; he’s now a school music teacher.
The couple’s resentment has built up over time and it peaks one evening when Angela has invited their new neighbors upstairs, Pina (Penelope Cruz; "Murder at the Orient Express," "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"), a psychotherapist and sexologist, and Hawk (Edward Norton; "The Bourne Legacy," "The Illusionist"), a former firefighter-turned-massage therapist, for a get-to-know-you evening over wine, charcuterie and cheese, to Joe’s dismay.
Truth be told, Joe and Angela have been bothered by loud noises coming from upstairs. The kind of noise that could only come from some prolific adult activities. Joe would like to confront them, to Angela’s discomfort, while Angela would like to actually let their neighbors know how understanding they have been with noises coming from their unit due to renovation.
To make it even more awkward, Pina and Hawk could hear Angela’s and Joe’s quarrel from outside the door prior to their arrival. It’s really amusing watching the apology tour, alternating with sarcasm and snide among the couples.
Don’t mistake the seemingly low-stake encounter. On the contrary, the non-stop dialogues are one-upping bickering, bug-eyed bewilderment, and tense with pressures waiting to burst at any moment, punctuated by the score that never lets up.
The hilariously contentious and anxious evening grows squirmy from there, when Pina and Hawk cross the neighborly boundaries and openly overshare about their personal lives, as well as what they really think of Angela and Joe, saying it with a knowing wink and a wild invite after some salacious secret reveal. Then Pina decides to give a radically honest pep talk about conscious choices, as if from a therapist perspective.
Superficial, inappropriate, uncomfortable, riotous, unpredictable with heartbreaking backstory and gut-punch realization at the same time. Acting all around is superb, with Wilde as a standout among the fractured foursome, on the verge of a nervous breakdown and shooting daggers, while attempting to maintain a polish people-pleaser façade the entire time.
The story progresses into discombobulated directions, from zing to fling and back. Seriously uproarious dramedy, expect the unexpected with “The Invite."
