{"id":85052,"date":"2026-08-09T13:15:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T17:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/?p=85052"},"modified":"2026-09-29T10:48:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T14:48:37","slug":"one-night-only-2026-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/one-night-only-2026-review\/","title":{"rendered":"‘One Night Only’ (2026) Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by Travis Braun and directed by Will Gluck, One Night Only<\/em> takes place in a world where the government has passed a mandate banning premarital sex… but for one night a year. On this night, all singles get 12 hours to engage in as much sexual activity as they want. Pizzeria owner Owen (Callum Turner<\/strong>) has decided that the One Night is the best time to propose to his girlfriend, Malika (Maya Hawke<\/strong>). But before he gets a chance, she bluntly informs him that she plans on sleeping with their neighbor. She tells Owen to “get out of his box” and explore with someone else that night. After some cajoling from his mother, Owen decides to take Malika’s advice. It’s then that he meets Allie (Monica Barbaro<\/strong>), a woman who sings commercial jingles for a living and is looking for a real connection on exemption night. There’s chemistry there, but after a not-so-great first meeting, the two part ways, only to be drawn back into one another’s orbit over the course of the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the surface, this is a ridiculous premise for a rom-com. Premarital sex banned<\/em>? Everyone is marked with a sensor that tracks dopamine levels to ensure no sneaky sex is happening under the watchful eye of our government? Insanity! Never would that happen in the great U.S. of A. But… the longer I thought about it, the more I realized that yes, this could absolutely become a thing. We didn’t think The Handmaid’s Tale<\/em> could ever be reality either, eh? It’s easy to brush off this romantic-comedy because of how far-fetched the plot seems, but it’s a pretty obvious take on how the country has essentially allowed fascism to take over without much of a fight. Yes, there are detractors and plenty of “REPEAL” and “F the Mandate” signs and graffiti, but is that enough?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where One Night Only<\/em> falls short. There are so many questions about how this kind of society can actually function. The concept could have supported a much sharper satire, but it’s clear the point was to keep things light and rom-com-y, because ultimately, this is <\/em>a rom-com. Occasionally there is a throwaway line designed to give some more information about the mandate, but the screenplay leaves us with more questions than answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting back to the rom-com-ness of it all, I actually found One Night Only<\/em> to be pretty charming. Beneath the depressing political allegory is a romantic comedy that feels fairly old-school. Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner have a lovely amount of chemistry. Barbaro is an appealing leading lady. As Allie, she is slightly awkward, but down to earth with plenty of warmth to make her likable. Turner matches her energy with a slightly exasperated charm, and their dynamic feels genuine, becoming more convincing as the night progresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite all of the action happening within 12 hours, the romance is still able to develop organically. Allie and Owen’s conversations, side quests, and misadventures keep the movie plugging along at a decent pace. It’s clear that neither of them is necessarily looking for sex – they want a connection, and the universe seems to be continually pushing them into one another’s path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The humor is occasionally uneven. Some jokes land harder than others, and oftentimes the absurdity of the premise feels like it’s doing more work than necessary. But there are some memorable supporting characters, including Owen’s mother, played by Molly Ringwald, and her boyfriend, Rick – Lavar Burton! And Will Gluck succeeds in showcasing New York City, making it feel like a supporting character of its own. Oh! And if you’re expecting to see a lot of crazy, one-night-only sex – or maybe you’re avoiding this movie because you don’t<\/em> want to see it? I suppose you’ll either be disappointed or relieved. Despite the premise and being rated R, there is surprisingly a minimal amount of sexy times. Some male nudity and language is enough for the R rating, but Gluck keeps things fairly tame. He leans into the build-up<\/em> of consummating physical attraction, which admittedly can be just as effective in creating an intimate scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Night Only<\/em> isn’t a perfect rom-com by any means, and I am sure that the surreal premise will either draw some fans in or turn them off completely. But I think if you’re willing to go with it and accept things for what they are, you will find One Night Only to be amusing, charming, and completely earnest. Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner make the romance worth rooting for, and the movie ultimately delivers the kind of warm, feel-good experience that romantic comedies should (almost) always provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watched:<\/strong> 08\/09\/2026
Notable Song<\/strong>: Payphone by Maroon 5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rating<\/strong>:<\/div>
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One Night Only: Two love-starved strangers crash into each other on the one night of the year when single people are allowed to have sex.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":85055,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[784,1],"tags":[5490,10566,557,10562,10565,10561,10563,10560,2445,5250,1337,10559,1345,10558,525,10564,3656,1860],"class_list":["post-85052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews-o","category-reviews","tag-5490","tag-andrew-burnap","tag-callum-turner","tag-charlie-gillespie","tag-jay-ellis","tag-julia-fox","tag-king-princess","tag-levar-burton","tag-maya-hawke","tag-michelle-hurd","tag-molly-ringwald","tag-monica-barbaro","tag-nicholas-braun","tag-one-night-only","tag-pete-davidson","tag-quintessa-swindell","tag-4-stars","tag-will-gluck"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85052"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88014,"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85052\/revisions\/88014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}