The Invite (2026)

A Very Good Dinner Party to Have Gatecrashed - The Invite review by griggs

Two couples, one dinner party, and by dessert everyone's marriage is out on the table. I went in expecting a comedy and left thinking about it for days.

Rogen's the one who surprised me most. He plays Joe, a musician who never quite made it and now teaches at a conservatory, and there's a tiredness to him that's more sad than funny. Wilde directs herself well, too — you can see Angela's need to be liked in her face before she says a word. Norton does his usual charm-with-a-crack-in-it thing as Hawk, while Cruz gets the trickiest role of the four and somehow avoids every free-spirited-neighbour cliché going.

My one real gripe is the camera. It keeps rack-focusing between people mid-conversation instead of just using a split diopter filter to hold both in frame, and after a while it left me a bit queasy, like I'd had one drink too many at the party myself. The ending loses its nerve as well, right when it should go for broke. Still, a very good dinner party. Just don't host it yourself.

Well Done - The Invite review by KB

Although it is only four people in an apartment the script is amusing and it is well acted .At first i wasn't sure if i was going to like it but when Norton and Cruz show up it really picks up ( i felt that Cruz felt ever so slightly out of place in it).

Fruity Adult Relationship Comedy - The Invite review by GI

A four way relationship comedy that looks at the stress of middle age marriage with the cast on excellent form and with a witty script that is both hilarious, cringeworthy and ultimately a little sad. Seth Rogen gives one of his best performances as Joe, a failed musician who now teaches at a small music school, is depressed and has a bad back. He's married to Angela (Olivia Wilde who also directs) and their marriage is under strain with her filling her time with redecorating their apartment about which Joe is entirely uninterested. Much to his consternation Angela has invited their neighbours from the apartment above for an evening soireé ostensibly to apologise to them for any noise caused during her renovations but Joe intends to complain to them about their very noisy sex which keeps them awake. The neighbours are Piña (Penélope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton) who are a sexually liberated couple and very cool. The evening goes in some very unexpected directions with the subject of sex dominating the conversation and Joe and Angela face some very difficult revelations. The script is zesty and adult themed and the comedy comes mostly from Rogen's quips and pithy one liners. It all twists and turns and the visitors open honesty causes some funny clashes of culture. It's all great fun and while the entire film takes place in the apartment it never seems dull or confined. If you enjoyed Carnage (2011) you will like and get this film which is very appealing and it's great to have an uninhibited adult comedy to enjoy.