One Night Only
Sparks fly when Allie (Monica Barbaro, "A Complete Unknown") and Owen (Callum Turner, "Eternity," "Rose of Nevada") meet on a particularly fortuitous night, but fate seems determined to keep them apart three years after a government mandate decreed single people can have sex "One Night Only."
Laura's Review: B-
The basic structure of a romantic comedy is to introduce two people, either obviously made for each other or registering instant dislike, then put up obstacles to keep them apart until finally allowing them to get together for a happy ending. Writer Travis Braun (TV's 'Criminal Minds') sure knows how to cook up obstacles, even if a couple of them stress suspension of disbelief. If his high concept feels ripped off from "The Purge," it works here as a statement against fascistic government overreach, albeit one as playfully implemented as his pharmaceutical ad running gag, the latter more pointed in its social implications. Director Will Gluck ("Easy A," "Anyone But You") keeps multiple threads involving Allie and Owen interacting with a huge ensemble full of surprise cameos, the two running into each other at climactic moments as they crisscross New York City, woven together with lively pacing.
We meet both Allie and Owen at their jobs, Allie singing a jingle for psoriasis medication in a recording booth, Owen slinging pies at his Claremont Pizza, as anticipation builds for the 7 p.m. start of sexual liberation. Both of their plans immediately hit speed bumps. Allie's friend Jacinta (King Princess, "Song Sung Blue"), who was to stay with her until they found meaningful connectionss, finds Tejan (Okieriete Onaodowan, "Hamilton") for her hookup in five minutes flat. Owen's planned proposal at a fancy sushi restaurant is upended when Malika (Maya Hawke, "Asteroid City") announces she's going to sleep with someone else that night, encouraging him to do the same to 'get out of his box.' After Allie returns home and has her tasteful mid-length slip dress replaced with a short, plunging sequined number by her lesbian roommate Arya (Quintessa Swindell), and Owen gets thrown out of his mom Linda's (Molly Ringwald, "The Breakfast Club") apartment so she can get it on with Rick (LeVar Burton, TV's 'Roots,' "Star Trek: First Contact"), the two will bump into each other on the street with instant attraction - until Owen suddenly vomits up the two orders of maki he ate after Malika deserted him.
As each makes their separate way, both will find potential prospects, Allie with Max (Andrew Burnap, 2025's "Snow White") and Owen with Skye (Julia Fox, "Uncut Gems"), but neither having the requisite condom turns into a crazy quest to find one in a city all sold out. Of course their paths cross and their joint effort is one of the film's funniest bits, but only one of them can attain the prize leading to the next separation until they meet again in jail (where an amusing wall diagram outlines just what kind of physical interactions between singles are allowed and not on every other day). Walking out together, they'll note a well dressed trio chatting about a party and, after they're picked up in a limo, Owen convinces Allie to board the next one for yet another grand adventure, one which finds them paired off yet again, Owen with Gorgeous Vivian (Ella Loudon), Allie with her musical crush Ezra Strong (Charlie Gillespie, "Suze," "Splitsville"). This quartet seem happily settled, Vivian pushing the stage averse Allie up to perform, her rendition of 'Only You' appreciated by both men, but once (actually twice) again, fate will intervene to bring them together and pull them apart.
Turner, who was dealt a bum hand in his last romantic comedy, and his costar Barbero, singing again after playing Baez, keep us rooting for their coupledom, their easy repartee signalling a love match. Both actors' eyes light up during their chance meetings, even if Barbaro's Allie is reluctant to succumb. There are too many cameos to mention, including SNL's Ben Marshall, 'Succession's' Nicholas Braun and Mike Birbiglia. Bobby Canavale and Pete Davidson play television cops whose scene is inadvertently ruined by Owen, who learns film productions like to shoot this night because much of the public is indoors, a tidbit that sets up a hilarious dual callback of a closing scene.
The production makes good use of the city without relying on known tourist sites, excepting a symbollic use of the Empire State Building. Extras adorn the background in flagrante delicto. "One Night Only" may wobble occasionally, but its landing is satisfying and secure.
Universal Pictures releases "One Night Only" in theaters on 8/7/26.
