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Now playing: ONE NIGHT ONLY (2026)
Rom-com turns "The Purge" into the urge to merge
Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner find ruins among the love.
ONE NIGHT ONLY (2026) Will Gluck / Writer: Travis Braun / Cinematography: Yaron Orbach (2.35:1) / Design: Scott Kuzio / Editors: Robert Nassau Tia Nolan / Composers: Este Haim & Christopher Stracey / Acted by: Callum Turner, Monica Barbaro, Ben Marshall, Maya Hawke, Molly Ringwald, LaVar Burton, Michelle Hurd, King Princess, Julia Fox, Roma Maffia, Charlie Gillispie, Sydney Cole Alexander, Ella Louden, Pete Davidson, Bobby Cannavale & Radio Man / USA / Universal Pictures / Rated R / 102 min.
A high concept, low-performing romcom set in a chaste parallel reality that posits sex among singles as a yearly holiday instead of an everyday occurrence. As the title One Night Only insinuates, each year, unmarried people are allowed twelve hours to pack in 364 days' worth of lovemaking. As soon as the sun sets, the major metropolis turns into a colossal red-light district.
Video:
Trailer: One Night Only
Streets are filled with people, subways are SRO, and bars pack patrons in as if they were sardines. The viewer may wonder: why bother with all the socializing? Why aren’t pent-up people seizing the opportunity to stay home and schtup? Didn't they know this night was coming and plan accordingly?
Amid the frenzy stands pizza parlor proprietor Owen (Callum Turner). Within his bonny framework beats the heart of a steadfast romantic. Over dinner, the waiter serves up a block of ice that, upon thawing, contains a wedding ring he intends slip on his girlfriend’s (Maya Hawke) finger — provided she hasn’t already committed to experiment with one of her neighbors.
Meanwhile, Allie (Monica Barbaro, the living image of a youthful Susan Sarandon) is a songstress at heart, forced to sustain herself as a commercial jingler, singing the praises of psoriasis ointment. (Her spangled peek-a-boo dress is a performance in and of itself.) Contrivances outpace the number of laughs as she and Callum spend most of the picture apart until fate — with the assistance of a janky screenplay — finally draws them together.
The premise of The Purge, upon which this is loosely based, supposed a dystopian USA ruled by a political party that, in order to maintain a low crime rate, sanctions a 12-hour period where murder, theft, and assault are completely legal. Why does One Night Only limit its comic hypothesis to a comparable window of opportunity? Who knows? And what’s the punishment for breaking the rule the rest of the year? Do their red and green bio-sensor tattoos cause a Carpal Tunnel Syndrome burning sensation in the wrist? Perhaps a zap to the lap offers up the threat of just punishment?
Your guess is as good as mine, and I’ve seen the picture.
Because One Night Only functions purely as an empty-headed romantic comedy — one that fails to address these sorts of questions — it’s hard to take it seriously. Even though the strict law is used as a comedic backdrop, it doesn’t mean screenwriter Travis Braun (Puppydog Pals, Muppet Babies) should be given a pass for not working hard enough to make the comedic rationale cook.
One burning question remains: What the hell happened to director Will Gluck? How does someone go from an Easy A to a flunking grade? One thing’s for certain: the only ones getting schtupped by One Night Only are the audience. Rating: 0
Here's something you might be interested in.
Now playing: ONE NIGHT ONLY (2026)
Rom-com turns "The Purge" into the urge to merge
Now playing: ONE NIGHT ONLY (2026)
Rom-com turns "The Purge" into the urge to merge
Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner find ruins among the love.
ONE NIGHT ONLY (2026) Will Gluck / Writer: Travis Braun / Cinematography: Yaron Orbach (2.35:1) / Design: Scott Kuzio / Editors: Robert Nassau Tia Nolan / Composers: Este Haim & Christopher Stracey / Acted by: Callum Turner, Monica Barbaro, Ben Marshall, Maya Hawke, Molly Ringwald, LaVar Burton, Michelle Hurd, King Princess, Julia Fox, Roma Maffia, Charlie Gillispie, Sydney Cole Alexander, Ella Louden, Pete Davidson, Bobby Cannavale & Radio Man / USA / Universal Pictures / Rated R / 102 min.
A high concept, low-performing romcom set in a chaste parallel reality that posits sex among singles as a yearly holiday instead of an everyday occurrence. As the title One Night Only insinuates, each year, unmarried people are allowed twelve hours to pack in 364 days' worth of lovemaking. As soon as the sun sets, the major metropolis turns into a colossal red-light district.
Video:
Trailer: One Night Only
Streets are filled with people, subways are SRO, and bars pack patrons in as if they were sardines. The viewer may wonder: why bother with all the socializing? Why aren’t pent-up people seizing the opportunity to stay home and schtup? Didn't they know this night was coming and plan accordingly?
Amid the frenzy stands pizza parlor proprietor Owen (Callum Turner). Within his bonny framework beats the heart of a steadfast romantic. Over dinner, the waiter serves up a block of ice that, upon thawing, contains a wedding ring he intends slip on his girlfriend’s (Maya Hawke) finger — provided she hasn’t already committed to experiment with one of her neighbors.
Meanwhile, Allie (Monica Barbaro, the living image of a youthful Susan Sarandon) is a songstress at heart, forced to sustain herself as a commercial jingler, singing the praises of psoriasis ointment. (Her spangled peek-a-boo dress is a performance in and of itself.) Contrivances outpace the number of laughs as she and Callum spend most of the picture apart until fate — with the assistance of a janky screenplay — finally draws them together.
The premise of The Purge, upon which this is loosely based, supposed a dystopian USA ruled by a political party that, in order to maintain a low crime rate, sanctions a 12-hour period where murder, theft, and assault are completely legal. Why does One Night Only limit its comic hypothesis to a comparable window of opportunity? Who knows? And what’s the punishment for breaking the rule the rest of the year? Do their red and green bio-sensor tattoos cause a Carpal Tunnel Syndrome burning sensation in the wrist? Perhaps a zap to the lap offers up the threat of just punishment?
Your guess is as good as mine, and I’ve seen the picture.
Because One Night Only functions purely as an empty-headed romantic comedy — one that fails to address these sorts of questions — it’s hard to take it seriously. Even though the strict law is used as a comedic backdrop, it doesn’t mean screenwriter Travis Braun (Puppydog Pals, Muppet Babies) should be given a pass for not working hard enough to make the comedic rationale cook.
One burning question remains: What the hell happened to director Will Gluck? How does someone go from an Easy A to a flunking grade? One thing’s for certain: the only ones getting schtupped by One Night Only are the audience. Rating: 0