Can you legislate sex? That’s the question that lingers throughout “One Night Only,” an odd rom-com that never provides an answer.
In some dystopian, “Purge”-like world, singles are allowed to get busy one night a year. The other 364 could get them arrested. But how is this patrolled? And why is this an issue?
The concept merely gets single residents in New York all hot and bothered and ready for the twitching hours.
Callum Turner and Monica Barbaro play singles thrust together repeatedly without any follow-through. He’s a pizza restaurant owner about to propose to his longtime girlfriend (who ditches him); she’s a jingles singer who can’t find a reason to commit. They commiserate repeatedly, then (and this is a protracted then), realize they belong together. But the clock is ticking.
Monica Barbaro, left, and Callum Turner in "One Night Only."
Both battle for the last condom in New York and have sorta-close encounters with others, including a frequent offender who spends most of his screen time naked.
People are also reading…
Director Will Gluck gets many of his “com” laughs showing ads that address the big night. They’re sly (in a “Simpsons” way), but don’t cover the big flaw in the premise.
Turner is a good contemporary leading man. Barbaro does well, too, and gets a laugh out of the fact that she sings about psoriasis.
“One Night Only” has plenty of cameos (blink and you’ll miss Pete Davidson) and a look at a day that could be dawning if those who want to control what goes on behind closed doors get their way. It’s a sly approach to a growing problem. But it still doesn’t land the way it should.
Gluck might have offered some insight into the “crime” and what results. That could have helped explain what’s at stake and why Turner and Barbaro are so determined to make the most of 24 hours. Gluck works so hard at keeping his stars together he can’t come up with enough destinations that seem plausible for the two to bump into each other.
When they finally get to share a slice of pizza, we think the resolution is near. But that’s a ruse.
She has more outs; he believes he might take a second shot at proposing to his fickle girlfriend.
Luckily, “One Night Only” doesn’t embark on an odyssey. It ends on a happy note (one of Barbaro’s) and suggests 24 hours is just the beginning.
“One Night Only” is in theaters now.
