One Night Only – Movie Review
Solidifying himself as one of the shining voices in the cinematic romantic-comedy space (a space that’s sadly been dwindling in quality and quantity over the last decade), Will Gluck follows a hot stretch of films like Easy A, Friends With Benefits, and most recently the box-office smash-hit Anyone But You with his most high-concept film yet that blends absurd comedy with the electric chemistry of current Hollywood heavy hitters Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner, the New York set One Night Only.
Taking place one the one night of the year where a government mandated premarital sex ban is lifted, pizza shop owner Owen (Turner) prepares to propose to his girlfriend (Maya Hawke), in the hopes that they will no longer have to use this one night to have sex. But, when she throws Owen the curveball of wanting to sleep with someone in their apartment before locking it all down, he turns the sorrow of his partner using their apartment to hook up with someone else into a determination to also pursue his chances outside of the relationship. Owen’s journey has him cross paths with Allie (Barbaro), who having just been ditched by her best friend (who found a suitable fuck buddy in the bathroom line of a restaurant before the mandate is even lifted), is trying to find love, not just lust, on the night of nights. The initial encounter between Owen and Allie doesn’t go well at all, but a series of wild shenanigans throughout the night keep their paths intersecting, making each of them wonder whether fate is bringing them together as lovers.
A feature film screenplay debut from Travis Braun (who has predominantly worked in children’s animated television before this), this rom-com works overtime to balance being exactly what the genre requires it to be in order to work, with an intricate high-concept premise that has a fair bit of social commentary vocalised through its expositional set-up early on in the movie. The idea of a government mandated sex ban is quite aggressively commenting on traditional Republican views that stem from Christian family values, but under the guise of stopping the spread of venereal diseases between young people. But, the idea of having the find your soulmate on this night in order to freely have sex, or even just finding someone to hook up with, is also an interesting examination of 2020s dating culture, and the pressure that people put on themselves and each other to find “the one”
Braun’s screenplay is interesting as it doesn’t necessarily take a stance on how people should navigate love, but through its heightened premise (which also involves a sci-fi style bio-chemical wrist tattoo… big tech commentary?) allows people to find themselves within the insanity of the pursuit. At times, the premise and the exposition required for it to make sense can feel a little bit overdone and convoluted, which is mildly frustrating because there are a lot of flaws within the logic of it all, but it is a fun jumping off point for the aspects of the film that then work incredibly well.
By leaning into a truly absurd and justifiably silly comedic sentiment, One Night Only pushes the “comedy” half of the rom-com genre strongly, ala Anyone But You – a similar shenanigans and set piece driven story. The comedy feels entirely aware of how crazy the premise is, and feels like it’s trying to out do that craziness through the humour. Allie is the voice singing the inspiring, uplifting songs for commercials about vaginal rash creams, with the lyrics of top 40 pop songs like Sara Bareilles Brave being mildly changed to fit in the names and usages of the aforementioned creams, often to hilarious results. Outside of the verbal jokes that barrage the screenplay, there are some hilarious bouts of physical comedy, including a condom heist and bondage induced robbery that are incredibly entertaining. Plus, a healthy dose of celebrity cameos quite obviously placed in certain scenes to elicit a laugh in the moments they pop up with a funny one-liner (often a pick up for sex or abstute observation about how people as hot as Turner and Barbaro are struggling to find a partner), featuring Pete Davidson, Bobby Canavale, Julia Fox, Ben Marshall, Molly Ringwald, Levar Burton, and a handful more that are better off left as a surprise. There are a lot of attempts of jokes and humour over the 100 minute runtime, and for the most part, they land due to the commitment to the absurdity.
But where One Night Only truly shines is the electric chemistry between Barbaro and Turner, who both play off of the will-they-won’t-they trope of the genre with excellence. The script does a great job of making you fall in love with Owen and Allie individually, before even trying to get you to fall in love with the idea of them together. Owen finds romance through the art of pizza making, something very sensually captured on camera and inherently New York-ian, giving the film a strong sense of identity through the often romanticised city. Allie’s search for a meaningful connection, led by a strong sense of agency and self-worth, make her incredibly endearing (and her sincere singing of some absolutely hilarious commercial lyrics also helps). And while their chemistry starts off on the more antagonistic side of the spectrum, their scuffle over a final condom leads to a back half of the story that allows their romantic chemistry to truly shine, which is also a testament to Gluck’s ability to find this sort of electricity from the actors he hires.
Even though there are a few flaws in its heightened and convoluted concept, One Night Only thrives off of nailing the two most important aspects of the rom-com. It’s romantic due to the wonderful chemistry of Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner, and it’s absurdly hilarious in all of the right ways, making for a truly entertaining movie worthy of a watch in the cinema.
One Night Only is in Australian cinemas August 13
