“You think your life is hard? Try being single on the one night a year where single people can legally have sex.”
After hearing an American-accented Callum Turner utter that line during the trailers showed before “The Odyssey,” my attention was immediately grabbed. I couldn’t wait for Christopher Nolan’s so-called masterpiece to be over so I could book my tickets.
The movie behind the trailer, “One Night Only,” follows Owen (Callum Turner) and Allie (Monica Barbaro) in an alternative universe where premarital sex has been outlawed outside of one night a year. The film is set over the course of that one night and follows the two as they navigate a day where all anyone wants to do is hook up — for 12 hours straight. Owen has a girlfriend who wants to hook up with someone else, and single Allie hopes to spend the night finding a “good guy” whom she actually likes. What ensues is a chaotic and hilarious adventure through an incredibly horny New York City.
The film was in no way an Oscar contender, but despite that, I enjoyed it more than any of the awards show-bait I have watched this year. In an era of Netflix lighting and formulaic rom-coms, “One Night Only” steps back into the long lost rom-com culture, with chaotic chase scenes, hilarious mishaps and flagrant miscommunication. From the start, the film cements itself as nothing to be taken seriously, and that is exactly what makes it seriously charming. It follows dozens of tropes, it’s absurd and nonsensical, and it embraces that.
Turner was shockingly a stand out in this film. Known mostly for more serious and brooding roles, he cements his comedic chops with Owen. He portrays Owen with a lovable awkwardness that ensures the viewer will be rooting for him by the end. And that desire is what drives the power of the film. Allie and Owen are constantly at odds, platonically, and later romantically, following each other’s adventures around the city, and this set up would not be nearly as entertaining if it wasn’t for the palpable charm with which Turner gives Owen. I found myself constantly rooting for him, even in his low moments, of which there are many.
The premise of the film has drawn criticism for being potentially anti-sex or puritan, but the message is the exact opposite. The film never takes a stance on anything remotely political or social, instead centering its commentary about the so-called “sex ban” on the people it affects, rather than the policy in general. It allows the audience to make their own conclusions on the effects of such a policy, and does so by equitably portraying every silly and nonsensical outcome that could come out of it. Allie seeks to find a potential life partner — an absurd mission on such a lustful night — and Owen seeks to get his “retribution” after his girlfriend wants to sleep with someone else. Both of them go into the night with different ideas, and what ensues is up to the viewer to interpret as good or bad.
The comedy in “One Night Only” felt like a blast from the past, while finding a way to not be too “millennial” or out-dated. The film relied a lot on situational comedy, rather than throwing joke after joke that eventually tire an audience. And this is what gives it another one of its charms. This situational comedy is almost Chaplin-esque, which gives it a joyous throwback energy that leaves you smiling the whole way through. There are some of the usual cringey rom-com jokes thrown in, but they are executed in a purposeful and tactful way that never leaves them feeling cheugy or out of touch (an affliction of many recent rom-coms) nor did it rely on an illustrious or performatively romantic press tour for attention (“Anyone But You”).
There is a growing trend of films fighting to have some award worthiness, or to achieve some serious goal or talking point, and frankly that philosophy has gotten exhausting. Sometimes you want to go to the movies to watch awkward hot people fall in and out of love, run around the streets of New York City with a stolen mannequin and fight to the near death for a condom. “One Night Only” has the kind of playfulness that makes going to the theater fun again, rather than some profound artistic experience. Every joke is aware of what it’s doing, and no scene seeks to make a commentary above its pay grade. I felt a sense of nostalgia watching this film, bucket of popcorn in hand and ICEE in my reclining chair’s cupholder, and I look forward to whatever future wave of silly and fun rom-coms this film can inspire.
Senior Arts Editor Tiffany McKalko can be reached at tmckalko@umich.edu.
