At first glance, it could have been any buzzy industry party from any decade at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood, Calif. But then, a loud, throaty laugh cut through the sounds of 2000s rap, and the smell of honeysuckle mixed with the scent of weed.
There was Seth Rogen, poolside, plucking a mini pig-in-a-blanket from a passing tray and sharing a joint with his wife of more than a decade, Lauren Miller Rogen.
Across the patio, Penélope Cruz chatted with Dakota Fanning and Kesha. And inside an adjoining bungalow Olivia Wilde — who had changed out of a voluminous, black Saint Laurent gown into a blazer and denim cutoffs — welcomed a line of congratulatory hugs as “Hot in Herre” by Nelly played through the speakers.
The party was a bit of a victory tour for Wilde’s third major directorial effort, “The Invite,” a snappy comedy about a tense marriage that stars Wilde, Rogen, Cruz and Edward Norton. It had premiered that evening at the nearby Directors Guild of America complex.
Adapted from Cesc Gay’s Spanish-language film “Sentimental,” the film follows a weary married couple, Angela (Wilde) and Joe (Rogen), who invite their free-spirited neighbors, Piña (Cruz) and Hawk (Norton) over for dinner. The evening veers in unexpected directions, forcing Angela and Joe to confront whether their marriage can be salvaged. “The Invite” released by A24, is in limited theaters this weekend and will be out nationwide on July 10.
Wilde has said she was partly influenced by her past high-profile relationships and breakups. Speaking on the red carpet, she said she wanted to explore the idea of “taking responsibility for your own happiness and, within relationships, never getting to a place where you’ve lost your identity.”
She added, “I think those are valuable lessons that take people a lot of life to learn, but you know, you stumble and you fall, and sometimes you get better.”
At the party, bartenders served the evening’s three signature drinks, all named after songs by Sade (whose music plays a key role in the film). There was also an elaborate charcuterie display, a tribute to the food Angela (Wilde) painstakingly prepares in the film before learning Piña (Cruz) does not eat dairy or meat.
In a reserved section of the patio, Cruz and her husband, Javier Bardem, mingled with fellow partygoers. Cruz’s character, a sensual, confident therapist and “sexologist,” was shaped in part by the relationship expert Esther Perel, who worked as a consultant on “The Invite.”
“She said genius things every time,” Cruz said, adding the cast was, “always asking her, ‘When can you give us time for real life, not just for the movie?’”
Inside a toasty bungalow, Alicia Silverstone chatted with Eva Victor, the director of “Sorry, Baby,” as Anthony Anderson, a star of “Black-ish,” took a seat in front of an unlit fireplace. Nearby, Rashida Jones, who wrote “The Invite” with Will McCormack, worked the room with a cocktail glass in one hand and a large bottle of water in the other.
“I’m hydrating!” Jones said.
Mulling over what makes a long-term relationship work in a pre-party interview, Jones emphasized “listening, understanding and knowing that whatever it is you want, it’s not going to be the same thing your partner wants. Compromise, compromise.”
As a D.J. rotated tracks by Blu Cantrell, Kelis and Miley Cyrus, Norton kept a low profile, chatting with guests including Bardem and Silverstone in the back section of the patio. He was initially drawn to how the Spanish-language version of the film “challenged us to look at what makes eroticism die and what keeps it alive,” he said before the party, adding, “Who in any kind of a long-term relationship isn’t grappling with these things?”
Standing near a cluster of palm trees, Rogen’s laughter continued to punctuate the night as he and his wife chatted with the actors Chase Sui Wonders, a co-star from “The Studio,” and Gabriel LaBelle, a castmate from “The Fabelmans.”
“The Invite,” Rogen said in an interview earlier in the evening, “really made me appreciate my relationship.” He added, “As a couple, we’ve evolved together in many ways, and I think it made me really recognize how fortunate we are that that’s happened.”
In a recent New York Times Magazine interview, Rogen suggested that the secret to marriage was essentially being nice to each other. But what about when your partner is driving you crazy?
“Sure, everyone has bad days, but the positivity will prevail, generally,” he said.
“What I have found is that being nice is easy, if you don’t, like, hate the person,” he said, using an expletive.
As midnight approached, and guests wandered to the exit, Rogen’s parents, Mark and Sandy Rogen, turned the living room of the now-empty bungalow into a private dance floor.
The couple have been married 49 years and attribute the longevity of their relationship to “a lot of therapy,” Sandy Rogen said. Also, she added, “He’s really good at forgetting why he’s mad at me.”
