The Best of the Fest
The hottest ticket at The Sundance Film Festival was undoubtedly The Invite. Even with a ticket to the premiere in hand and getting in line over an hour before the film started, I was unable to get a seat. Hell, I wasn’t even able to enter the Eccles Theater, the largest venue in Park City. So you can imagine my disappointment when it sparked a massive bidding war, and every colleague I knew that DID get to see it wouldn’t shut up about how great it was. This usually leaves me with a sense of overhyped nonsense – or really a defense mechanism to avoid being even more disappointed that I am left out in the cold (literally) – but I nevertheless made it a goal to get my eyes on a screen that was showing The Invite.
Thankfully, a viewing opportunity arose, and I’m happy to report that The Invite is as good as everyone said it was, if not better. It immediately shot up into my top 5 of the year so far, and I don’t think there is a better script for a film out there this year. I am such a sucker for two things: small cast chamber pieces and grounded dramedies, the kind that capture universal truths in human relationships and are unafraid to explore the nastier parts of marriage or long-term unions. The Invite has both in spades, it’s single apartment setting trapping the audience in a most uncomfortable dinner party with no way out, a razor sharp script that gives its performers plenty of meat to sink their teeth into, and an all-star cast who are firing on all cylinders in every single frame.
What Exactly Is This Invitation?
I don’t want to give too much away as The Invite is best experienced as blind as possible. The less you know, the better, so I’m going to keep this synopsis short, sweet, and spoiler-free! Angela (Wilde) and Joe (Rogen) are married with children and are clearly at the end of their rope with each other. No one thing has caused this, but they clearly lack intimacy and communication between them, approaching every single interaction together on the defensive and with a combative tone with every breath.
Hawk (Norton) and Pina (Cruz) are their upstairs neighbors who are constantly loud and often have sex, which has annoyed Joe to no end. When Angela invites them over for a dinner party, all hell breaks loose as things about each person and their lifestyle choices slowly but surely get revealed. The evening will either bring Joe and Angela closer together or be the last spark that burns their relationship to the ground.
A Great Script Is Hard to Find
Great scripts have been rare in 2026. Most of the best films have been hindered by their screenplays, requiring the visuals and/or performers to do a lot of heavy lifting to make things work. The Invite is a testament to how vital writing actually is to telling a great story, and when the script is as electric as this, it allows its can’t miss cast to no longer have to work overtime to force the material to connect. Actors get to do what they do best: act, no longer concerned with having to shoulder the ideas themselves and use their talents to rev up trite and subpar material.
The Invite is a masterclass of what happens when an excellently crafted script meets a completely game cast all being shaped by a director who has finally found the voice to match her talents. Yes, Olivia Wilde is a capable and talented director who lost her way after her breakout debut, Booksmart, by attempting the abysmal Don’t Worry Darling. She returns here with veracity, delivering career bests both in front of and behind the camera. McCormick and Jones’ script evokes a sort of Woody Allen touch (in cinema ONLY and ONLY the good kind) that Wilde feels shockingly comfortable operating in. It’s not a name we like to use complimentarily much these days, but it’s foolish to ignore how much of his filmmaking style and storytelling influence The Invite.
No Weak Links In This Chamber Piece
Rogen, Cruz, and Norton are at the top of their game here. It’s probably the best Norton has been in years, and you can never really go wrong with Cruz in your lineup. Rogen is Rogen as he always is, but paired with Wilde, he works far more than you’d would assume he would distract. The Invite perfectly understands their pairings and the cacophony of pitting two couples at different stages of their relationship together in the same room. Wilde and Rogen spew subtle venom at one another constantly, perfectly capturing the verbal sparring that happens in failing relationships, particularly ones only sticking it out for the kids (which Joe and Angela eventually admit that’s the only thing keeping them together).
We very rarely see it portrayed so viscerally as it is in The Invite. It’s seldom over the top or exaggerated even when things spiral into exaggerated places, and the jabs that once poked you with a kind of bitter humor and biting wit, The Invite eventually pierce the skin and draws blood. This is juxtaposed by Norton and Cruz, who are mysterious observers but clearly head over heels for each other. You’re never quite sure if their comments are made purposefully to inject chaos into the evening, or if they’re just unable to read the room. The Invite sprinkles in a bit of both, and maintains that sense of ambiguity even when things start to become clear.
The Effectiveness of Unpredictability
That is another part of its strength; The Invite is truly unpredictable. Sure, it has plenty dramedy staples and some common close-quarters hijinks. Of course, Rogen falls over and crashes into something because he wouldn’t be in a movie if he couldn’t deprecate himself. But no matter where you think The Invite is going or what you know about it heading in, it consistently keeps you on your toes. It is very rare for me to watch a film and have no clue what’s going to happen next, and this framework helps make the third act turn from laugh-out-loud comedy to dark, dramatic emotion land hard. It’s a turn that feels earned if you’re willing to dial into the undercurrent of emotional turmoil simmering beneath every laugh-a-minute exchange.
When it finally gets into the heart of the matter and The Invite starts to have us sit in the silence, it transforms into something truly profound and poignant. Everything hit has to say about communication and human connection and relationships come to a head and leaves the audience in a sense of a bittersweet resolution. There are so many ways The Invite can go wrong, and if it doesn’t stick the landing by falling victim to the pitfalls of its genre it would be rather forgettable. Thankfully, Wilde is smart enough as a director to recognize that the script calls for something much more layered and nuanced, and she mines every ounce of thematic richness out of a seemingly straightforward premise.
Final Thoughts
The Invite is raw and vulnerable in its exploration of sex and relationships and human connection. It’s an exposed nerve that gets brutally honest and uncomfortably close to reality sometimes. It uses its humorous shenanigans to lure you in and make you feel safe and then before you know it, you’re contemplating relationships in your own life (good or bad) and left fully invested in the emotional lives of these characters. The Invite is a smart, sharp adult dramedy with a lot on its mind and a ton of talent that bring it all together. It is worth the RSVP, and is one of the best films of the year.
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