We suppose it was too tall an order to ask Will Gluck to address the serious issues the logline and trailers suggest in the newest romantic comedy One Night Only. Issues like government tracking of its citizens, political repression, and loss of personal autonomy. And yet, that’s exactly what we would have wanted from this rom-com that isn’t fully one.
Truthfully, we’re big fans of the rom-com genre. Especially when romcoms are silly, fun, and wild in nature. However, there is a lot about this movie that isn’t silly when you really think about it. It’s dark to see this fictionalized American government tracking intimacy for unmarried people.
The movie has a memorable soundtrack of popular 2010 songs (such as Maroon 5’s Payphone and Yaz’s Only You), a supporting cast with recognizable iconic faces such as Molly Ringwald, and admittedly funny quips between characters that made us laugh. Yet, it fails to be a romcom worthy of being grouped with the classics we want to rewatch over and over. Because this isn’t a world where love can simply bloom in ordinary and unexpected places. This a world where people have normalized being controlled by the government.
Maybe we’re thinking too hard about the plot and taking things out of proportion. But we can’t help but feel like One Night Only was purposefully ignoring the big elephant in the room. And we have a problem with that.
MORE: Watch some BTS of the film HERE!
First Thoughts
On the one night a year where America’s ban on premarital sex lifts, a pharmacy jingle singer who dreams of more named Allie (Barbaro) is eager to find a good guy she could connect with. Turner’s Owen is initially out for revenge when told that his girlfriend (Maya Hawke) wants to sleep with someone else. When that choice wounds his pride, he finds himself wanting to do the same.
When Allie and Owen meet in front of her building, they find what they’re looking for in each other. She finds a nice guy who loves everything about her, and he finds someone he genuinely cares about.
Every choice these characters made was a direct result of the premarital mandate lifting on this one day out of the year. It’s such a bizarre plot idea that we don’t think Turner’s Owen and Barbaro’s Allie would’ve met if this government ban on premarital sex didn’t exist. Allie wouldn’t have left her apartment that day if she didn’t want to find someone to fall in love with. And if Owen’s girlfriend hadn’t wanted to sleep with someone else, he wouldn’t have wanted to meet new people.
Therefore, by default, everything within the world becomes political. So, we think it’s a problem when Gluck refused to acknowledge the harsh reality he built around the romance of Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner’s characters. That’s not to say their characters’ will-they-won’t-they romance wasn’t good. Positively, we think their characters’ series of meet-cutes was the highlight of the movie.
What We Liked
Sure, Gluck’s script doesn’t give either character intense depth as people. But we believe he gives Barbaro lots to work with as Allie. A young woman who doesn’t want to do casual hookups without meaningful connection in the digital age of dating apps and government mandates. She was an awkward, sometimes insecure, lover girl who wanted someone she could be with after the night was over. And Barbaro played Allie with such ease that it made it easy to love her. She could be any one of our friends. Honestly, we just enjoyed how relatable she was.
While Turner’s Owen isn’t nearly as fleshed out, their on-screen chemistry together makes up for his surface-level character. Their banter when dissing each other, conducting crazy stunts to buy condoms, and talking about life felt natural and easy.
Look, we weren’t asking Gluck to make a revolutionary romcom that challenges the genre and gives us something new to think about. Trust that we know all movies don’t need to be this powerful, introspective narrative that changes our lives for the better. Gluck’s bread and butter is the romcom genre, which makes the romance here somewhat enjoyable. Because he knows what he’s tasked to do, even if his characters always seem to lack some depth. If you want to watch two people gradually fall in love with actors that make it look believable, he does that here.
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More Could’ve Been Done
However, the logline of One Night Only suggested that Gluck was going to attempt to tackle some serious issues. So, when Gluck only gives us a simple explanation as to why the mandate exists, we naturally want more. Especially when the reason why is for society to return to traditional Puritan values. This America wants to prevent teen pregnancy, control population, and take away people’s choices to do what they want in love.
With this in mind, Gluck brushes off the darkness with flashy countdowns on TV that tell people when the ban lifts. As if the ban being lifted compares to the joy of celebrating New Year’s Eve in New York City. Audiences watch as every single person happily dresses up to go out to parties or clubs to meet people. Despite us seeing multiple “repeal the ban” graffiti signs written on train stops and storefronts, nobody does anything. No protests or riots took place after the night was over.
Then, there was Allie’s gay roommate being confined to a few minutes’ worth of screentime. Her purpose was to usher Allie out the door in a stunning silver dress. Then to say the night was only for straight people to enjoy. Sure, it could be argued that the mandate doesn’t apply to them, or that they find a way around it. Let’s say queer people can enjoy hooking up every day of the year. Why is that? Is it because the government doesn’t see the worth in queer couples getting married? What is the explanation? No one knows, seemingly not even the movie.
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We’re Left Questioning Gluck’s Choices
Now, we’re left thinking that America only wants married opposite sex couples to have sex to have babies. Especially when the movie goes further to confirm that single people can only have sex if they use protection. So, why didn’t Gluck discuss values and politics if he was unafraid to bring it up in the first place? He may have been cautious about discussing why people are willing to follow the laws even if they don’t agree with them. However, for a movie that advertised sex and hinted at questioning of authority, One Night Only doesn’t really give us either of those things.
Overall, watching Owen and Allie not threaten or question the law that oppresses them as protagonists felt odd. Because it feels like we’ve seen them go in one big circle of nothingness in the end. If you’re stuck thinking why Gluck chose this script in the first place, we’re in the same boat. Because he doesn’t discuss anything more than the struggles of modern dating in a world that essentially guilts most singles into marriage.
One Night Only works as a basic romance where we get to see two people fall in love. But it’s impossible to forget about the world it lives in. At first glance, it’s funny to watch people live in this world who have normalized the unthinkable and figured out how to navigate it. But there’s no navigating to be seen. There’s just conformity to a society people don’t even like and tolerate. So, Will Gluck’s newest romcom exists in too serious a world to be something we can only think of as a sweet romance. If Gluck was going to treat the mandate lifting as a big party or national holiday, then why not commit to a plot of lesser stakes?
Do you agree or disagree with us? Let us know how you feel about One Night Only below!
Will Gluck’s One Night Only is now playing in theaters.
