CCFF 2026: The Invite
The Chicago Critics Film Festival kicked off its Opening Night last night with “The Invite”, a comedy that sold out the historic Music Box Theatre. Clearly, plenty of film enthusiasts RSVP’d to the latest from director Olivia Wilde! She also stars in the movie, alongside Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton – that’s it! That’s the cast. When it premiered this past January at Sundance, the movie mostly received high praise from critics, prompting a bidding war for its North American distribution rights that A24 eventually won. It’s rare to find studios releasing a comedy in theaters nowadays, let alone an adult relationship comedy like this, and while “The Invite” definitely has some laughs, it also touches on marriage, sex, and commitment with biting accuracy and surprising poignancy.
Before we meet the two couples who will occupy the story, an epigraph from writer Oscar Wilde can be read: “One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry.” That gives us an idea of where this movie stands on marriage, or at least what kind of tone to expect.
When we first meet Joe (Seth Rogen), an associate professor at a San Francisco-area music school, he’s listening to his grade-school-level students as they perform in their orchestra. As they finish and await his feedback, a half-interested Joe gathers his things, stands, and commends them, suggesting they practice a couple more times. They watch him struggle to fold his bicycle and get it out the door. This introduction shows us where Joe is emotionally and what kind of comedic timing to expect from Wilde.
By the time Joe arrives home after a long day at work, you can tell he’d rather be anywhere but there. His wife Angela (Olivia Wilde) is frantically getting their spacious Bay Area apartment ready for company. That’s news to Joe, who’s lying on the floor because of his bad back. As Angela scurries to prepare a spread of five different cheeses, a charcuterie board, and a soufflé, she reminds Joe to take off his shoes and voices how certain she is that she mentioned tonight’s dinner guests, Pina (Penelope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton), the couple who live upstairs. This means Joe must not have picked up wine on the way home, as she asked, which adds to her stress. Joe asks if their visit can be rescheduled for another night, but Angela quickly shoots it down, since their guests will arrive in 10 minutes.
In that short amount of time, the interaction between Joe and Angela turns into a “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” type of argument, complete with broad “you always/never” statements. Joe is far from enthused with the idea of having Pina and Hawk over, considering the main thing they know about them is the noisy sex they can hear them engage in frequently. Angela counters that they made the same amount of noise because their apartment was recently renovated (it appears they’ve turned two apartments into one), but Joe doesn’t see that as a fair comparison. Regardless, Angela makes it clear that bringing up their noise levels is off-limits tonight (which means we know it’s going to happen), and it’s right about then that there’s a knock at the door.
Considering their arguing could be heard outside their door, Pina and Hawk wonder if tonight is still a good night. Eager to please the attractive guests, Angela apologizes and shows the clingy couple in. They admit that they don’t mind hearing their arguments, appreciating the truth and honesty of the moment. As the night progresses, unexpectedly frank conversations are introduced between the quartet with subjects that range from family to jobs and on to open sex and marital contentment. It becomes an evening of unplanned openness and sudden revelations, as the fraught state of Joe and Angela’s marriage becomes more obvious to their guests and to them.
If any of this sounds intriguing, know that the less said about “The Invite” the better, since experiencing the crackling screenplay and lively performances cold is a real treat. All four actors are splendid here, with Rogen and Wilde unsurprisingly given the most to do. Rogen is known for comedy, so it’s no surprise that his comedic talents are on display here (nor will it be a surprise when his character lights up a joint), but through Joe’s resentment and bitterness, Rogen eventually arrives at a place of unsuspecting vulnerability and pain. So does Wilde as Angela, but she arrives there from a place of insecurity and anxious people-pleasing, hoping to come across as cool as she thinks her good-looking and confident neighbors appear to be. Wilde displays a knack for physical comedy here that’s impressive, emphasizing certain beats with the lived-in emotionality of Angela, who has become gradually closed off and unseen in their long marriage. It’s a career-best performance from Wilde, and the movie as a whole is her best directorial work after “Booksmart” and “Don’t Worry Darling”.
When Cruz and Norton arrive as Pina and Hawk, the comedy follows them because their characters are so different from Joe and Angela’s. They are both endeared by how far out of her way Angela is going to go to impress them, while Joe is baffled by this. Cruz exudes a palpable sexiness on screen (as she often does) and often uses it humorously here. Norton has an easygoing, zen-friendly, quirky nature, and his work as Hawk has funny nuances and delivers a personal revelation near the end of the third act, which changes the temperature in the room.
“The Invite” is one of those one-location movies, which are often referred to as “theatrical”, meaning they feel like a story that can be translated easily to the stage. As a director, Wilde knows this and revels in it, utilizing production design fittingly and leaning on the clever screenplay from Will McCormack and Radhida Jones (“Celese and Jesse Forever”). The few problems I have with the movie come from the screenplay and the score. There are times when all the details of Pina and Hawk’s sexcapades overstay their welcome, with the friction between the two couple could’ve come solely from their relationship differences. Most of the score from composer Devonté Hynes seems garishly loud and distracting, making it oddly one-dimensional and unnecessary. The music tends to drown out the dialogue at times, making it hard to catch everything, especially since many of the characters, primarily Joe and Angela, are talking over each other. It probably would’ve been a better idea to use didactic music, like selections from Joe’s vinyl collection, which would make sense, considering hosts typically put music on when anticipating guests.
“The Invite” is an American remake of the 2020 Spanish comedy “Sentimental” (aka “The People Upstairs”), described as “a provocative date night comedy”, which was written and directed by Cesc Gay. It was a huge hit in Spain and nominated for multiple Goyas, earning one for Best Supporting Actor for Alberto San Juan. So huge was its success that it was remade in four countries: Italy in 2022, as “Neighbors”, Switzerland in 2023 as “The Neighbours from Upstairs”, France in 2024 as “Maybe More” (a curious title), and South Korea in 2025 as “The People Upstairs”.
Wilde’s movie is now the fifth remake in six years – what the what?
Shot in San Francisco in chronological order over a period of 23 days, “The Invite” will be released by A24 at the end of next month and will hopefully find an audience amid the noise of the big summer releases.
RATING: ***1/2
