Film Review – One Night Only (2026)

      One Night Only, 2026.

      Directed by Will Gluck.

      Featuring Monica Barbaro, Callum Turner, Maya Hawke, Julia Fox, Molly Ringwald, LeVar Burton, Okieriete Onaodowan, Este Haim, Ziwe, King Princess, Ben Marshall, Nicholas Braun, Quintessa Swindell, Michelle Hurd, Veronika Slowikowska, Charlie Gillespie, Kam Patterson, Pete Davidson, Bobby Cannavale, Jay Ellis, Craig ‘Radio Man’ Castaldo, and Grace Dumdaw.

      SYNOPSIS:

      Two love-deprived strangers collide on the single night of the year when unmarried individuals are allowed to engage in sexual relations.

      In Will Gluck's high-concept romantic comedy, One Night Only, every scene seems to generate more questions than answers regarding the world-building and its characters. This starts with the concept that three years earlier, Congress enacted “the mandate,” effectively banning premarital sex for singles, with the exception of this particular night. In Travis Braun’s script, this law seems to have been largely accepted without much resistance and is mostly followed in America, a nation that reacts intensely to any suggestions for gun regulation and couldn’t unite to wear masks during a pandemic that jeopardized millions of lives.

      Here, single men and women eagerly anticipate this single night each year as if it were a regular holiday, behaving as if their bodily autonomy was not infringed upon, and treating the situation as if it’s perfectly normal. The issue lies not within the premise itself, but in the characters’ actions, which convey a retrogressive and conservative idea that sex is inherently wrong unless you have detailed knowledge of someone’s background, preferences for pizza, and coffee. The characters seem to embody a world of indoctrination, and the film itself appears to share this same mindset (though the characters may not explicitly believe premarital sex is wrong, their attitudes suggest otherwise). Consequently, nothing within the film feels remotely convincing.

      The government and 24-hour news outlets claim that STD rates, teenage pregnancies, and childbirth numbers have all drastically declined over the last three years, an assertion that will have anyone with a modicum of common sense calling “nonsense” loudly in theaters or at home. Humans (with the exception of asexual individuals) naturally enjoy sex, and no biogenic alarm system (which is a tattoo that turns green for the married, becomes that color on this night for singles, and red otherwise) will counteract that, leading to the unrealistic fantasy world depicted here. While this is a film, it is also not unreasonable to attribute decreases in childbirth to certain communities being aware of overpopulation, climate change issues, and younger generations seeming less interested in sex (a far superior film addressing this topic is currently showing, titled I Want Your Sex).

      According to these rules, teenagers can only receive such tattoos once they reach 18, making it a stretch to claim this accounts for lower pregnancy rates broadly. Beyond a cheeky young boy providing comic relief, who annoys a babysitter hoping for a big payout (a funny detail in this world, like the rising cost of condoms around Valentine’s Day), there are no teenagers featured, as the filmmakers appear uninterested in genuinely exploring the themes they propose. LGBTQ representation is also fleeting, as one supporting character mentions they’ve found ways around heteronormative regulations. Additionally, a tech-bro character discusses developing a program to disable the biogenic device so that it won’t activate when those in the red get intimate, though realistically, a workaround would have been discovered almost immediately (likely for nefarious purposes).

      The narrative follows Monica Barbaro's aspiring singer Allie and Callum Turner's pizzeria-owner Owen as they find themselves in individual misadventures (each mishap serves as a poorly conceived chance to delve deeper into the lives of those in this world and its regulations) and often end up back together after failing to engage in sexual relations. It’s puzzling that anyone watching could be considered more magnetic than the story revolving around these Hollywood actors (both leads are stunningly attractive regardless of orientation, which may lead viewers to overlook lapses in dialogue; this is also a flaw of the film). Aside from a scene with some property damage and a scam that leaves one character tied to a tree, there isn’t much enjoyment to be found.

      The fact that this film earned the moniker “The Sex Purge” prior to its release yet features no actual sex is astonishing. It’s perplexing that a duo of filmmakers could conceive this idea and entirely misinterpret their own objectives. This isn’t a matter of wishing for the film to be different, but rather being astounded by how the creators view sex. Their apparent aversion to it is evident. The tone is inconsistent, attempting to liven up background scenes with random couples engaging in physical contact, at times groping one another in public,