The Invite is based upon a 2020 Spanish film, The People Upstairs, aka Sentimental, by Cesc Gay, and touches on the touchy subject of wife-swapping.
Joe’s (Seth Rogen – Good Fortune) a music teacher, who had a one-hit wonder in a band, 20 years ago, while stay-at-home wife Angela (Olivia Wilde – Babylon) has been organising a huge meal because their neighbours, Piña (Penélope Cruz – The Bride!) and Hawk (Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown), are coming to dinner.
Angela goes all out, even trying to get some special ham for Piña – aka “Jamon” – only to find out she doesn’t eat meat, along with the revelation that the female neighbour is also a sexologist, and it takes until the film is half over before the ‘sex’ topic comes up, as both Piña and Hawk go into detail about what they do in their private lives, with one amusing line when Piña says of a friend, “Vanessa pushed Hawk into anal” (with a strap-on), to which Joe replies, “Hope she pushed you gently(!)”
However, the film never recovers and it’s one of the most tedious experiences lasting 107 minutes that I’ve ever sat through.
The Invite is like a stage play on the big screen, but not in a good way. There’s lots of running around before the guests arrive, with Olivia Wilde being nothing but over the top, while Seth Rogen is Seth Rogen.
Once they arrive, Hawk does little more than get on Joe’s nerves, and while it brings up potential for lots of tension and awkward moments, this is not helped by wanting to check my watch frequently, to find out how much longer there is to go.
The dialogue from Will McCormack and Rashida Jones is mostly anything but interesting, and on the directing stakes, while I wasn’t persuaded to see Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart from 2019, I largely enjoyed 2022’s Don’t Worry Darling, although at the point where it finished after two hours, it had a very truncated ending which felt like it could’ve gone on for another hour.
This time round, I’m staggered The Invite has good reviews, since while it’s wordy, it’s mostly just people shouting at each other.
NOTE: There are no mid- nor end-credits scenes.
The Invite is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on Blu-ray and DVD.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 107 minutes
Release date: July 3rd 2026
Studio: A24
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (35mm)
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 2/10
Director: Olivia Wilde
Screenplay: Will McCormack, Rashida Jones
Based on the film Sentimental by Cesc Gay
Producers: Ben Browning, Megan Ellison, David Permut
Music: Devonté Hynes
Cast:
Joe: Seth Rogen
Angela: Olivia Wilde
Piña: Penélope Cruz
Hawk: Edward Norton
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.