Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner bring humor, heart, and terrific chemistry to One Night Only, a romantic comedy built around an inventive dystopian premise.
Writer/director James DeMonaco (The Purge franchise) created an idea and, in 2013, brought that idea to life in the feature film The Purge. The concept was that for 12 hours, once a year, everything was legal. If you wanted to steal something, set something on fire, or murder someone, you could legally do it. It was the government's way of controlling the common people while still giving them an outlet for their more basic urges. Over a dozen years later, that same concept has been reworked into something very different. Now the government regulates the mating habits of single people, giving them one night a year to be intimate. That is the idea behind writer Travis Braun's (Pupstruction) romantic comedy, One Night Only.
Allie (Monica Barbaro; Top Gun: Maverick) is a single woman living and working in New York City. She once again dreads the one night each year when she can legally have protected sex because she is tired of meaningless relationships that inevitably end with being ghosted. Owen (Callum Turner; Emma.) has been with his girlfriend, Malika (Maya Hawke; Stranger Things), for a few years and plans to ask her to marry him when she suddenly tells him she wants to spend the one free night of the year with one of their neighbors instead. Depressed, Allie and Owen wander the streets of New York and keep bumping into each other, leading to a series of hilarious encounters.
Barbaro is terrific as the single woman looking for something more meaningful than casual sex. Turner is excellent as the "nice guy" who suddenly finds himself blindsided by the woman he loves. Together they have terrific chemistry and play off one another naturally, which is a large part of what makes the movie work as a romantic comedy. The supporting cast doesn't have a lot of screen time, but they make the most of every moment. The ensemble includes Hawke, LeVar Burton (Reading Rainbow), Molly Ringwald (Riverdale), Michelle Hurd (Blindspot), and Quintessa Swindell (Black Adam), among others, all contributing memorable comedic moments.
Besides the fact that single people have one day each year to legally have sex, the rest of the story follows familiar romantic-comedy territory. Two people meet, they don't like each other, they keep finding themselves in impossible situations, their resentment slowly fades, they part ways, they realize they are attracted to one another, and eventually fall in love. The romance itself is fairly conventional. Luckily, One Night Only has plenty of comedy to go along with it. Instead of simply offering a few chuckles and smiles, many of the film's funniest moments become genuine laugh-out-loud scenes that audiences are likely to remember long after the credits roll.
This movie has the bonus of being directed by veteran filmmaker Will Gluck (Anyone but You). He has an established track record of making great romantic comedies, and One Night Only is no exception. He knows how to bring out the best in his actors while building the chemistry and romantic tension audiences expect from the genre.
With a great cast, especially the two lead actors, a seasoned director, a semi-unique script, and plenty of laughs to go around, One Night Only has all the makings of a new romantic-comedy classic. Set against the backdrop of New York City, it reminds us what is so wonderful about the City That Never Sleeps and, ironically, in this film it really doesn't sleep, at least for one night.
If you're a fan of romantic comedies, you'll find plenty to enjoy in One Night Only, including a terrific soundtrack, strong chemistry between its leads, and enough laughs to make it worth revisiting. After all, isn't that what most of us want from a good movie?
Grade: B-
