One Night Only Movie Review

​“One Night Only” is about a mandate that tells people that not only do unmarried people only get one night a year to have sex, ONE, but they better have a condom ready. They must use protection. Everyone! Get prepared in advance! Hello!?!

Anyway, the people don’t like this infringement on their rights, but nothing has been done about it. When the government gets into your bedroom, that’s beyond overreach. That’s the message in this movie. And allow me to point out that this is eerily similar to another movie where the government allowed everyone the right to do something that’s illegal.

For only one night a year, it’s permitted. That film is called “The Purge.” What the characters were allowed to do in that film is the polar opposite of what unmarried people are allowed to do in this. This one is much nicer. This is a romcom, so it sorta has to be, am I right? I am, and what works really well is how we’re introduced to the main characters, what keeps them drifting to one another, and the tension that builds between the two… and inside you.

The two singles are Owen, played by Callum Turner, and Allie, played by Monica Barbaro. They’re the main characters in the film and surprisingly a bit old-fashioned in that they’re also looking for romance. Not easy to do on this night. That’s something they probably should have already addressed. Owen has a girlfriend played by Maya Hawke. She isn’t in the film long, but she’s central in that she lets him know she wants to go find someone else to sleep with for a change. The person she has zeroed in on is the neighbor. We see a picture of him… It’s the beautiful Glen Powell. Off she goes.

Everywhere you look, people are taking advantage of the law. Look left, look right, in cars, shop windows… people are engaged. Owen has been encouraged to find someone, so he’s on the hunt; not sure he’ll find someone. He walks around watching people, as does Allie, who literally runs right into Owen as she does, of course. It’s around this time that you are given an incredibly funny scene with Pete Davidson.

There are so many cameos that you might miss some if you don’t pay attention. Don’t let that happen. Also, pay attention for callbacks. They’re genius.

The script is clever and witty. The movie is entertaining, and you’ll find yourself grinning from ear to ear quite often. It’s refreshing, a total riot, and you will laugh a lot, which you’ll appreciate if that’s what you need right now. But more than that, the movie is, as I mentioned, romantic. It’s even unusually sweet, which is helped by Barbaro and Turner having incredible chemistry. Director Will Gluck (Friends with Benefits) makes sure you never question the authenticity of his characters or drag the narrative out too long; it’s the right amount of story-to-attention-span ratio. I can’t wait to see this again.