Olivia Wilde dazzles in The Invite as critics hail sex comedy
Olivia Wilde's The Invite is earning rave reviews as a dazzling, award-worthy sex comedy about a raunchy dinner party gone wrong. The Times calls her performance award-worthy, The Guardian bills it this summer's buzziest film, and the Financial Times praises her and Seth Rogen's hilarious mid-life fumbling as UK cinemas roll out the A24 hit. Wilde directs and stars alongside Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton and Rogen in a chamber piece that critics say marks a triumphant return after Don't Worry Darling.
Key Takeaways
- The Times deems Olivia Wilde award-worthy in her dazzling third feature, a side-splittingly funny sex comedy co-starring Penélope Cruz, Seth Rogen and Edward Norton.
- The film follows a fraying San Francisco couple whose supper with upstairs neighbours spirals into uncomfortable honesty about desire, jealousy and marital bed death.
- The Guardian reports audiences leaving screenings almost tearful from cathartic, adult laughter that makes them feel seen.
- A24 bought the film for $12 million after a Sundance bidding war; Wilde told the paper she feels both thrilled and ruined by the shoot.
- The Financial Times frames Wilde and Rogen as hilariously fumbling through a mid-life sex comedy that balances farce with real relationship stakes.
What is The Invite about?
Directed by and starring Olivia Wilde, The Invite is a chamber-piece sex comedy set almost entirely in one apartment. Wilde plays Angela, a frustrated artist married to failed musician Joe (Seth Rogen). When their daughter is away, Angela invites upstairs neighbours Hawk (Edward Norton) and therapist Piña (Penélope Cruz) for supper.
According to The Guardian, the evening does not go as planned. Think Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with extra pegging. The film is based on a Spanish play and was workshopped for two weeks with screenwriters Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, with relationship expert Esther Perel consulting on Piña's dialogue.
Why are critics calling Olivia Wilde award-worthy?
The Times headline puts it plainly: Olivia Wilde is award-worthy in her dazzling sex comedy. The review positions the film as a side-splitting return for the Don't Worry Darling director, praising a raunchy dinner-party setup that lets four A-list performers spar.
The Financial Times review title — Olivia Wilde and Seth Rogen fumble hilariously in a mid-life sex comedy — underscores the tonal sweet spot. Wilde and Rogen play depleted parents, not master manipulators, fumbling to explain how they grew apart. That vulnerability, not just punchlines, is driving awards chatter after Sundance.
How did Wilde and Norton craft such an intimate shoot?
Edward Norton told The Guardian that pre-existing trust made it easy to add personal hangups without feeling exposed. The cast improvised widely, including a devastating speech in which Hawk explains the origins of his name — a moment Norton remains amazed Wilde let him wing on 35mm film.
The production shot chronologically on a single set over about three weeks, a rarity Norton said gave the story its layered arc. Wilde said she feels both thrilled and ruined by the experience, unsure she will find another ensemble so in sync. For more buzzy culture and market-crossover alerts, browse our Fintech & Crypto Alerts hub.
Why does the film resonate so deeply with audiences?
Norton said cinemagoers sound almost tearful afterward, relieved to discover their relationship dysfunction is universal. Wilde's favourite laugh, she told The Guardian, is the kind that moans: I thought I was the only one. Both stars link that catharsis to bed death — the idea, drawn from Esther Perel, that long-term domestic duty can smother erotic life.
Wilde argued American puritanism makes admitting defeat or valuing pleasure shameful, while Norton connected global trauma to suppressed eroticism. Yet both insist the film is medicine, not just froth — a tonic for people who feel guilty whingeing about their own lives while the world burns. The Invite is in cinemas now.