Movie Review: “One Night Only”
“One Night Only”
By Bob Garver
It takes a very generous suspension of disbelief to enjoy “One Night Only.” The film is set in a not-too-distant future where premarital sex is outlawed, save for one night a year. Comparisons to “The Purge” are inevitable, which to me raises an interesting question: Which would lead to more violent crime in this country – one night of legalized violent crime, or gradually-building sexual frustration on all but one night?
Never mind that such laws would never in a million years be passed, enforced, or obeyed. The characters in this film – which takes place in a fully-recognizable New York City and not some bleak dystopian fantasy world – accept that the law is set in stone, and occasionally complain about it, but we never see any serious resistance. That’s a big strike against the film right off the bat – it’s hard to identify with anyone in this world because everybody is inherently ridiculous enough to go along with this law.
To be fair, this film is not about the 364 days a year where this law wouldn’t work, it’s about the one upside, the lone night where all the single people are allowed to go crazy. And go crazy they do, with almost every shot in the movie showing people hooking up, in at least the background. Of course, it’s all in a tame R-rated way with the naughtiest bits out of view of the camera. I shudder to think what this movie would have looked like if it took the X-rated approach, though that movie would have at least been memorable. As it is, I probably won’t forget the weird premise anytime soon, but I’ll probably have forgotten the title of this movie by year’s end.
The movie follows traditional rom-com characters Owen (Callum Turner) and Allie (Monica Barbaro). He’s a pizza cook who works too hard. She’s a singer who has stage fright. He has a girlfriend (Maya Hawke) who treats him badly and tells him he’s on his own for finding a partner for tonight. She’s not that serious about finding someone. Both have friends and family who tell them that they need to lighten up and have some fun. They bump into each other a few times while on separate adventures, initially having animosity that turns into a rivalry before considering that maybe they should be together. Will they become a couple, physically or otherwise?
The good news is that Turner and Barbaro are sweet enough leads. I was digging their chemistry and interactions with one another. They’re basically having a PG-13 relationship while the world around them is super R-rated (though not as “hard-R” as it probably wants to be). It’s all corny, in traditional rom-com fashion, but mildly engaging, especially when compared to what else the movie has to offer.
The bad news about “One Night Only” is pretty much everything else about the movie. I can poke holes in the premise all day, but the real problem is that the film wants to be both raunchy and edgy, but it can only manage the former. Sex gags permeate the movie (let’s just say it’s really hard to procure protection at the last minute in this world), but they’re oddly toothless. Director Will Gluck previously made “Anyone But You,” an R-rated romantic comedy that I thought would have worked better without its cruder elements. This movie doesn’t work because it doesn’t have much cruder elements. Even though I champion the film’s cleaner moments, they would mean more if they were contrasted with dirty moments that were actually good at being dirty.
Grade: C-
“One Night Only” is rated R for sexual material, language, and brief nudity. Its running time is 102 minutes.
Contact Bob Garver at [email protected].
