Olivia Wilde

In I Want Your Sex (2026), Olivia Wilde’s artist Erika Tracy seems to regard waiting for agreement as an unnecessary courtesy. Gregg Araki gives her a young assistant, Elliot Bell, played by Cooper Hoffman, and lets her appetite become both funny and selfish. Wilde makes Erika’s confidence enjoyable without concealing the authority she has over him. We laughed at her imperious treatment of Elliot, then felt uneasy because she was still his employer. Her willingness to make Erika unreasonable keeps the performance funny even when the plotting becomes overcomplicated.

Her early television work often asked her to be enigmatic, including Thirteen in House (2004). The danger was that confidence could become the whole part. By Drinking Buddies (2013), there was room for a looser, more naturalistic performance. Ron Howard’s Rush (2013) is a fine film that gives her Suzy Miller too little to do; Peter Morgan’s script uses her chiefly to explain the men.

Directing Booksmart (2019) gave Wilde more say over which women received that attention. Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever have the space to be funny, mistaken and still worth caring about, though Wilde tidies away some of their hurt too readily. Jason McCormick’s polished cinematography keeps the partying inviting and the visual playfulness close to the excitable leads. Her feature debut suggests a director alert to what actors need, if occasionally too protective of their characters.

The Invite (2026), her third film as director, makes the distinction between her two jobs unusually clear. As Angela, one of four people at a dinner party, she has grievances that sound written rather than felt, and some line readings make the preparation too visible. Behind the camera, she is more assured. Adam Newport-Berra frames the guests in twos and threes, while editors Yorgos Mavropsaridis and Anthony Boys linger on faces after the jokes. That gives the actors room to listen, even when the middle of the evening drags.

Jade Healy’s lived-in flat and Devonté Hynes’s sparingly used music help keep that evening dependent on the performers. It remains worth watching, despite the sag and Angela’s stiffness. For Wilde the actor, start with I Want Your Sex, where being sure of herself is allowed to become a problem.