One Night Only (2026) Universal/Comedy RT: 102 minutes Rated R (sexual material, language, brief nudity) Director: Will Gluck Screenplay: Travis Braun Music: Este Haim and Christopher Stracey Cinematography: Yaron Orbach Release date: August 7, 2026 (US) Cast: Callum Turner, Monica Barbaro, Maya Hawke, Molly Ringwald, LeVar Burton, King Princess, Quintessa Swindell, Julia Fox, Mateo Ray, Thomas Dodge Wheatley, Okieriete Onaodowan, Ella Loudon, Michelle Hurd, Roma Maffia, Sydney Cole Alexander, Este Haim, Ziwe.
Rating: ***
If asked to describe the new rom-com One Night Only in 10 words or less, this is what I’d say: It’s The Purge with sex instead of violence. Admittedly, it’s a bizarre premise for a rom-com. It’s set in a future where premarital sex is illegal except for one night a year. For 12 hours, it’s anything goes as horny people seek partners for the purpose of making whoopee. It’s cut down on teen pregnancies and STDs, but a lot of people are still against the Mandate. In the hands of a different filmmaker, we might be looking at a dark, dystopian tale of living in an oppressive society a la The Handmaid’s Tale. Under the direction of Will Gluck (Anyone but You), it’s a nice romantic comedy about two lost souls looking to make a meaningful connection.
The big night (7pm-7am) is treated like New Year’s Eve. People are counting down the seconds until they can legally have casual sex. Pizzeria owner Owen (Turner, Eternity) has it all planned out. He’s taking his girlfriend (Hawke, Stranger Things) to a fancy restaurant where he intends to propose. She beats him to the punch by announcing she plans to spend the night with an attractive neighbor instead of him. He’s crushed and after a visit to his mother (Ringwald, The Breakfast Club), he hits the streets of New York City looking for love or something like it.
Owen keeps crossing paths with Allie (Barbaro, A Complete Unknown), a singer who specializes in jingles for meds. She too is looking for more than a quickie. Ordinarily, finding such a person on a night like this would be impossible. Because, we’re talking about a rom-com here, Mr. Right is right there. The problem is neither one of them can see it. Actually, it’s more like they refuse to see it. But it couldn’t be more obvious if there was a big flashing neon sign above their heads. Instead of just giving in to it, they keep getting sidetracked by various misadventures.
Gluck doesn’t set out to reinvent the wheel with One Night Only, but setting it in an alternate reality is definitely a game changer. I love that he addresses how polarizing the Mandate is without politicizing the whole movie. Instead, he embraces everything fans love about rom-coms- e.g. ridiculous situations, LOL comedy, kooky supporting characters and references to An Affair to Remember. In addition, he strikes the right balance of raunch and romance. It’s dirty in the mind and sweet at heart.
It’s not easy finding actors who share chemistry on screen. For every Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, there’s a Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock. Gluck appears to have the Midas touch in this area. He successfully paired Glenn Powell and Sydney Sweeney on Anyone but You (2023) and repeats it with Turner and Barbaro in One Night Only. You can almost see the sparks as they exchange witty banter while navigating often embarrassing situations. They sell it well. They give good individual performances as well. Turner makes a convincing nice guy who, like a lot of men and women, is blind to the truth about the one-sided nature of his current relationship. After her Oscar-nominated turn as Joan Baez in the Bob Dylan biopic, Barbaro shows her lighter, comedic side as a woman whose career and love life are stuck in idle. She wants to connect with somebody, but it can’t be just anybody. Then when she finds a guy who might be that somebody, it ends with her sitting in a police station (where, of course, she runs into Owen).
And now for the $64,000 question, is One Night Only funny? Yes, it is. It’s frequently funny save for a few gags that don’t land. I laughed often and it wasn’t the hollow laughter I usually offer up to comedies that think they’re hilarious when they’re really only amusing. There are quite a few humorous moments like the battle for the last condom in the city. There’s also this kid (Ray) being looked after by Allie’s roommate (Swindell, Black Adam) for the night. The things that come out of his mouth, whoa! I can see a sexual harassment lawsuit in his future. There’s also a riotous bit involving Owen’s mom, her partner (Burton, Reading Rainbow) and bubble wrap.
One Night Only is ribald, but never mean-spirited. It actually likes it characters; it doesn’t set out to humiliate them. Sure, it puts them in embarrassing situations (they both get caught in various stages of undress), but not at the expense of their dignity. Additionally, Gluck and writer Travis Braun never stoop to moronic jokes aimed at the low-IQ crowd. It’s pretty smart for a rom-com.
I have a funny feeling One Night Only is going to be the surprise comedy hit of the summer much like There’s Something About Mary way back in ’98. It’s legitimately funny and has a sweet love story at its center. And it tells it without the aid of special “hair gel”. That’s always a plus.
