This might come as a shock for you to read, but relationships can be hard. That’s right, I said it! No matter what kind of relationship it might be and no matter how long it has lasted, everyone deals with obstacles that must be overcome, which could either result in the dissolution of that relationship or an evolution into a new form. Sadly, Olivia Wilde knows this better than anyone else, as her romantic entanglements have been some of the more highly publicized celebrity pairings in recent years. Whether she’s getting served divorce papers by Jason Sudeikis in the middle of a CinemaCon presentation or her relationship with Harry Styles overshadowing virtually all aspects of her movie Don’t Worry Darling, her professional career has taken a back seat to her personal life in recent years. By directing The Invite, she seems to have the opportunity to address some of what she’s been through, as well as what everyone in the audience has likely experienced in some capacity, making for a very funny, very intimate, and very successful movie.

Angela (Wilde) and Joe (Seth Rogen) have been married for decades and have a 12-year-old daughter. When Angela reveals to Joe when he gets home from work that they’ll be hosting their neighbors for a dinner party, they resort to what is assumed to be their years-old routine of bickering, as she chides him for not picking up the wine she texted him about and he debuffs by saying he couldn’t see the message as he was riding a bike she encouraged him to use in his commute. Their arguing is interrupted by the arrival of their guests, neighbors Hawk (Edward Norton) and Pína (Penélope Cruz). The foursome have awkward and surface-level conversations until Joe attempts to confront his neighbors about their noisy sex, only for Hawk and Pína to preemptively apologize, explaining the noise comes from their loud sex parties. Angela and Joe are fascinated, offering a barrage of questions, resulting in an invitation (the titular invite, if you will) for sexual escapades.

The Invite is based on the Spanish-language movie Sentimental from Cesc Gay, which itself is based on his own play. On the one hand, it could mean that this latest take on the concept is derivative, but on the other hand, the multiple incarnations of the concept highlight how universal the ideas being explored in the movie remain. The script was written by Will McCormack & Rashida Jones, and the effectiveness of the movie starts with the sharpness of the dialogue. Each of these characters is quirky without being caricatures, and there are dozens of subtle, one-off jokes that help keep the tone light, even while we know how much tension there is between Joe and Angela. I haven’t seen the pair’s previous collaborations, but the writers’ work on The Invite has won me over.

Bringing the script to life are four incredibly charismatic and watchable actors. We’ve seen stories of this ilk before, in which romantic relationships are tested with the idea of nontraditional dynamics. Make no mistake: all of these actors are attractive and charming, but there are other versions of this story that feature “hot” young actors in their 20s or early 30s that wouldn’t work. The fact that the audience has seen these actors in a variety of roles for decades adds subconscious gravitas to each character, heightening the characters’ on-screen backstory. Rogen is, of course, a lovable former musician who smokes pot, but he acts like an outright asshole at times. Cruz is compelling and mysterious, yet speaks candidly and with more insight than just a token object of attraction. I’d argue that Wilde is the standout, giving what might be the best performance of her career (unless you are counting The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, of course), as she’s a neurotic perfectionist who craves the approval of strangers.

Adding more credence to Wilde’s abilities, her direction captures the mood of each scene as it unfolds. When the conversations are tense, the music heightens and the cuts quicken to capture the frenetic tension. Characters are framed in each composition to either highlight the claustrophobia or to showcase the emotional distance between them. Or, when characters are confessing long-held resentments or emotional admissions, the camera stays on them in unbroken shots. Given how rarely we get movies like this anymore (small, talented ensembles trading compelling dialogue in a single location), Wilde may have unlocked an entirely new genre for herself to revive and make popular once again.

I already mentioned how, were this movie to be made a decade ago and featured hot stars instead of established talent, it would have entirely changed the tone. Luckily, we already have movies like that if you want to see other versions of couples exploring nontraditional relationships. When Hawk and Pína frankly discuss their lifestyle, Joe and Angela ask the most obvious questions about logistics and consent and involvement before diving into the more emotionally complex elements of that dynamic. Hawk and Pína want the most out of life that they can get, and not out of some hippy-dippy Burning Man-esque pursuit of letting their freak flags fly, more in the sense that they’ve lived their lives in one way up until they met each other and felt like they were settling for crumbs before that. Something tells me that there will be members of “the lifestyle” that take issue with how such dynamics are treated in the movie, but for the majority of audiences, The Invite will likely raise questions about the roles we fall into because we want to vs. because they are what we think our partners or society expects.

As someone who mainly watches horror movies and isn’t typically seeking out dramas or comedies or things without blood or ghouls, The Invite won me over. Given my lack of expertise in this genre, I couldn’t help but think, “Man, remember when the most successful movies were just talented performers telling stories without blue-screen or explosions? That’s wild!” I can’t say The Invite will fully revive this type of filmmaking, but it really should, as it feels like a salve to those of us tired of Disney’s constant reboots or the people who think Obsession is a “sophisticated” take on toxic relationships.

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