ONE NIGHT ONLY

One Night Only comes to life beautifully on screen thanks to the excellent pairing of Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner in the lead roles, that under the talented direction of Will Gluck generates big and sometimes raunchy laughter, genuine human connection and a whirlwind of romantic feelings that makes for an entertaining big screen summer romantic comedy.

If you look back at some of the biggest romantic comedies of the past fifteen years such as Anyone But You, Friends with Benefits and Easy A, they all have one man in common: director and sometimes writer Will Gluck. From casting Justin Timberlake opposite Mila Kunis and Glen Powell opposite Sydney Sweeney, giving Emma Stone her breakout leading role in Easy A, and turning already popular songs into iconic romantic comedy anthems, he has excelled as a storyteller in the genre. It is therefore no surprise that his latest romantic comedy features great romantic chemistry between its leading stars Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner, while bringing to life One Night Only’s high-concept premise with an outrageous critique of modern dating and hookups at the same time as finding an honest and intimate story about human connection and romance at the heart of Travis Braun’s screenplay. Delivering on every trope of the romantic comedy genre to create tender and romantic moments as well as big laughter, with a solid cast led by the effective and affectionate pairing of Barbaro and Turner, Gluck captures what audiences love about the romantic comedy genre in One Night Only that ensures laughter, adventure and true romance on the big screen.

Dubbed by the internet as the sex purge, Braun’s screenplay imagines an America where premarital sex is illegal and allowed only for one night a year. As you can imagine, this leads to an uncontrollable release of sexual feelings that cause that one night to be a parade of sexual escapades which gives One Night Only lots of easy comedic moments to play with, such as individuals ogling Turner’s Owen as he walks down the street or the endless parade of men who try to pick up Barbaro’s Allie in the ickiest manner possible. This helps to develop Braun’s critique of modern dating culture, its emphasis on physical appearance and appearance driven attraction, and the lack of serious intention and desire for easy hookups that has only been exacerbated by dating apps, with the pent up sexual release of the single night of legal sex amplifying the shallowness of it all. While the alternate, fascists state version of America presented in the film is driven by political and social ideology, Braun is less concerned with exploring this idea, instead merely presenting it as fact in the film’s opening act and instead focusing on something more meaningful and better suited for the romantic comedy genre: human connection and genuine romance.

Following Allie and Owen’s adventures through New York City on the night of legalized sex, Braun’s screenplay does not force the romantic connection on Allie and Owen but instead allows it to naturally develop over the course of the film’s one night. From their initial meet cute that takes a horrible turn which overshadows the initial relationship between Allie and Owen in the early hours of the night, the two characters are merely on parallel paths as they both process their personal motivations for wanting to find someone to sleep with, constantly re-evaluating what they are truly looking for: an easy hookup or a meaningful connection? In doing so, Braun and Gluck instill the film and the character’s relationship with a romantic yearning, highlighting the true power of authentic human connection as a basis for true love, helping to build the tender romantic moments of the film’s second half that will have viewers eagerly awaiting Allie and Owen to admit their true feelings for each other. It’s all created by the hallmarks of the romantic comedy genre, including but not limited to failed sexual encounters that help inform Allie and Owen of what they truly want, outrageous situations that force them to trust each other despite their initial snap judgement of each other, and Gluck’s signature musical moment that gives new life to Yaz’s “Only You” with a stunning live cover of it by Barbaro, delivering the comforting familiarity of the genre’s idyllic romantic couplings. Part Martin Scorsese’s After Hours, part Richard Linklater’s The Before Trilogy, there is no question that Braun and Gluck have crafted a truly heartwarming romantic comedy that is everything fans want from the genre, being honest to they story want to tell versus what the internet expectation is of it based on the premise.

So much of the film’s success relies on the performances of Barbaro and Turner in the lead roles of Allie and Owen, as both of them are exactly what the film needs. Barbaro is luminescent as Allie, lighting up the screen her natural charm, charisma and beauty that is everything you want of a leading lady in a romantic comedy, while once again delivering a great vocal performance singing “Only You” in a pivotal moment in the film, begging the question in every scene of how she isn’t a bigger Hollywood star. Turner is deeply committed to the role, playing Owen so squarely in the film’s first half that the romantic sparks between him and Barbaro take time to form, but once the sparks begin to appear, their chemistry is outstanding. Developed with a quiet yearning for authentic romantic connection, longing looks and a playful banter, not allowing their characters to realize their true feelings for each other until the end of the night despite being forced together for hours one end by circumstance, the connection that Barbaro and Turner create is meaningful, swoon worthy, and most importantly defined by hope that everyone will find their true love, confirming the magic of the romantic comedy genre in spades.

With the film being structured as a one night adventure, the majority of the film is largely Barbaro and Turner, but there are some fun scene stealing supporting performances. Molly Ringwald and LeVar Burton have some wonderful moments as Owen’s mother and her partner, proving that this night is for anyone regardless of their age in addition to parting some much needed wisdom to Owen; Este Haim has a hilarious smaller role as a bouncer for a party that Allie and Owen try to attend, while the never ending parade of men trying to sleep with Allie featuring Ben Marshall, Nicholas Braun, Andrew Burnap, Charlie Gillespie and Jay Ellis all deliver big laughs that create some of the film’s most hilarious moments. Maya Hawke is perfectly cast as Owen’s girlfriend Malika, possessing the right nervous and zany energy to bring the character to life and set Owen on his night of exploration and self discovery, while Ella Loudon and Julia Fox have some great moments opposite Turner as the main two women that Owen finds himself romantically entangled with over the course of the night.

If you walk into One Night Only only wanting a sex crazed comedy full of nudity and hookups or an exploration of the political fascist state in which the story unfolds in, you are going to miss the true intent of Travis Braun’s story which is not the sex or political ideas, but the beauty of true romantic connection in spite of the hyper fixation on physical and superficial appearance in the world of app based modern dating. Deploying his talents as a director that he has shown time and time again in creating a memorable romantic comedy, Will Gluck brings big laughter, pure heart and romance to the big screen once again in One Night Only while guiding his leading stars through the bizarre, high concept and energetic one night adventure at the centre of Travis Braun’s screenplay. With the infectious romantic chemistry of Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner infusing every frame of the film, not only does Will Gluck once again succeed in creating another highly entertaining and passionate romantic comedy, but One Night Only becomes the hopeful romantic comedy that calls back to feeling of some of the genre’s most beloved titles that delivers the romantic, one night adventure audiences deserve.