Awards Season will be upon us before we know it, and a number of titles already have buzz around them. Chief among them is Olivia Wilde's The Invite (streaming with an HBO Max subscription), with some cinephiles thinking that Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton might get nominations this year. I finally streamed the new A24 movie recently, and I was surprised about what drew me in the most.
Olivia Wilde famously directed Don't Worry Darling, and there was rumored beef between her and Florence Pugh. She once again got behind the camera for The Invite, and boy, am I glad she did. The movie tells the story of an unhappy couple, Joe and Angela (Seth Rogen and Wilde, respectively), who host their intriguing neighbors Pin and Hawk (Cruz and Norton) for a dinner party. Tempers rise, group sex is propositioned, and its 107-minute runtime absolutely flies by. I was surprised by which performance tickled me the most.
Olivia Wilde Is A Comedic Genius In The Invite
The four actors starring in The Invite are all incredible, but I actually think it was Wilde herself who stole the show. Her character Angela's anxiety is palpable throughout the entire movie, and I loved watching her flounder when trying to impress the neighbors. As director, she knew exactly the story she was trying to tell, and her work as Angela is a big reason why the film worked so much for me.
Whether she's bickering with Seth Rogen's Joe or stammering while trying to serve Penelope Cruz's Pina jamón, Wilde had me consistently cackling throughout The Invite. Considering that most of the buzz surrounding the movie had been about the supporting characters, I was happily surprised by how much the actress/director crushed it as the movie's protagonist.
That's not to say that her three co-stars didn't also deliver. Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton are indeed hilarious in this movie, and any potential nominations they accrue are totally deserved. The same can also be said for Seth Rogen, who once again brings his signature charm and comedic timing to The Invite. Still, it was Olivia Wilde who had me in stitches the most.
Of course, The Invite has a deeper message to tell as well. Ultimately, it's about what happens when couples' relationships start to dissolve. After Joe and Angela decide that they might be heading for divorce, The Invite's ending offers a moment of hope as Rogen's character returns to music for the first time in years. The pair do a simple duet, offering hope that their marriage might just survive after all. Wilde once again kills it in this scene, going from making me laugh to making me cry.
The Invite is streaming now on HBO Max as part of the 2026 movie release list. We'll have to see how many award nominations it gets, and if Olivia Wilde gets her flowers for her work behind and in front of the camera.
