I Saw One Night Only So You Don’t Have To… But You Should

I knew absolutely nothing about One Night Only when I walked into the theater.

I saw the trailer but still and no real idea what it was about. I just knew it was a romantic comedy, which usually means I am either there with my wife or I walked into the wrong theater. Then the movie explained its premise.

Premarital sex has been outlawed, except for one night every year when single people are legally allowed to have at it without the government kicking down the bedroom door.

It is basically the rom-com version of The Purge and I was in.

The movie never spends too much time explaining exactly how society reached this point, but it gives us enough. It seems that Conservatives have taken control of the government and banned premarital sex while celebrating lower rates of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies. Everyone has a tattoo that displays their relationship status, glowing red when they are single and turning green when they are married—or when the annual sex purge begins.

That gimmick is not just something the movie uses to get our attention before becoming another generic romance. It is the entire reason the movie works.

Without it, One Night Only probably would have been another Valentine’s Day movie about two attractive people wandering around New York while pretending they do not want to sleep together. The premise gives the movie its energy, creates the chaos surrounding them, which in the movie is usually just other people having sex..

Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner are both strong enough to carry the movie. They are immediately likable, have real chemistry together and give us an actual reason to care whether they figure this thing out.

The “will they or won’t they” buildup is handled especially well because we spend the entire movie getting to know both characters. We see them separately, we see them together and we understand why they might actually work as a couple instead of simply assuming they belong together because their names are at the top of the poster.

Turner is especially good as the likable everyman at the center of the story. He never feels like some perfect romantic-comedy creation assembled in a laboratory. He just comes across like a decent guy trying to survive the weirdest night of the year, and that makes him very easy to root for.

The supporting cast is where the movie gets a lot of its extra personality. LeVar Burton and Molly Ringwald both make memorable appearances, and there are several other fun cameos that are better left unspoiled. Anyone familiar with director Will Gluck’s previous movies may not be completely surprised by a few of the faces that turn up.

There is also a sex-obsessed 12-year-old with a small role who steals every moment he gets. The movie absolutely did not need this kid to work, but it is better because he is there. Everything that came out of his mouth was fucking gold.

More importantly, the movie is genuinely funny.

I laughed out loud throughout it, and the audience was right there with me. There was no long stretch where the energy disappeared, the jokes stopped landing or the movie suddenly remembered it needed to manufacture a dramatic tension just to reach the ending. It moves quickly, keeps finding new ways to use its ridiculous world and never feels like it is dragging us toward the finish line.

Is the ending predictable? Of course it is.

It is a romantic comedy. You probably know where this thing is headed before the opening scene finishes. The question is whether you enjoy getting there, and One Night Only makes that journey consistently entertaining.

This is not a heavy dystopian examination of government control, religion or sexual politics. It does not need to be. It is a fast, funny sex comedy with two charming leads and a clever premise that gives the traditional romantic-comedy formula a much-needed kick in the ass.

It probably won't convert anyone who already hates romantic comedies. The gimmick may get those people through the door, but underneath it all, this is still very much a rom-com. Anyone willing to give it a chance, however, may be surprised by its charm. I certainly was.

My wife absolutely loved it, and I walked out surprised and entertained. I would watch it again if it happened to be on or she wanted to put it on, but this kind of movie rarely has the same rewatchability for me as other genres.

That does not take away from how well it works in the theater.

One Night Only is an absolute blast for date night and an easy, entertaining two hours at the movies.