The case for "One Night Only" rests on a premise that should fold in the first act. Will Gluck has built a romantic comedy around a congressional ban on premarital sex, enforced by wrist sensors and police, with one designated night each year when the unwed are permitted to act on it. That Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner make the film land says something about commitment over concept.
The risk in the premise
On paper, the world screenwriter Travis Braun has built is a dystopian nightmare, and the film does not pretend otherwise. Characters make clear they are unhappy with the three-year-old law. Braun, making his feature debut after writing for children's programming ("Pupstruction," "Vampirina," and "Muppet Babies"), has built the universe with enough internal logic that Gluck can lean into the absurdity rather than winking past it. New York City treats the annual exemption night like a holiday: offices empty early, parties break out across the city, and a New Year's-style countdown kicks off the window. The supply chain detail that threads through the plot: condoms are sold out virtually everywhere.
Gluck's prior credits include "Easy A," "Friends with Benefits," and "Anyone But You." None of them, by the reviewer's read, landed as well as this one. The difference is consistency of tone.
What Turner and Barbaro bring
Callum Turner plays Owen, a pizzeria owner whose plans unravel when his longtime girlfriend (Maya Hawke) announces she wants to spend the night with a neighbor instead. Monica Barbaro plays Allie, an aspiring singer whose friend abandons her for a stranger within minutes of arriving at a bar. The film runs on their repeated chance encounters through the night. Turner, known for "Masters of the Air," the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise, and 2025's "Eternity," holds the line between cocky and endearing. Barbaro, Oscar-nominated for playing Joan Baez in "A Complete Unknown," brings her actual vocal ability into a role that earns it. Molly Ringwald and LeVar Burton appear as Owen's mother and her companion for the evening, among the film's better scene stealers.
The counterargument
The film runs 1 hour and 42 minutes. The reviewer's position is direct: it should have been shorter. Product placement for Durex and K&Y consumes minutes that contribute nothing to the story. Comedies over 90 minutes tend to overstay their welcome, and this one is not exempt.
On balance
"One Night Only" is rated R for sexual material, language, and brief nudity. It is in theaters now. The reviewer calls it Gluck's best film to date. Whether it belongs next to "When Harry Met Sally" or "Sleepless in Seattle" is a separate question from whether it works on its own terms. What the evidence supports: Barbaro and Turner are capable of carrying a feature, and the film earns most of its runtime. The product placement sequences are the exception.