One Night Only
ONE NIGHT ONLY is so much more than what I expected.
It's hilarious.
It's a very sexy throwback to frank 70's and 80's film comedies AND it's got a strange "Purge"-style one night event around sex.
I don't know how this works, but it does!
Credit two guys that have spent a lot of time making solid kids content, that apparently had a lot of pent up ideas for adult content that explode onto screen in style.
Director Will Gluck turned out the family-friendly and funny "Peter Rabbit" and its sequel, along with "Anyone But You". Writer Travis Braun has been turning out everything my grandson loves, from "Pupstruction" to 35 episodes of "Vampirina" on the Disney Channel.
The two should stick to adult fare moving forward, 'cause this one is a lot of fun for any couple to enjoy together. Unless maybe they are prudish. LOL. We loved it.
Here's the background premise: The government has passed a law that unmarried couples can only have sex ONE night a year. Everyone has a chip in them that shows on the inside of their forearm. Green means GO!, but only for 24 hours. Gluck and Braun nail every bit of the hilarity around all the national brands that would be all over this annual snog-fest.
Their sly observations deliver a lot of laugh out loud moments as singles of ALL ages get ready for blast off.
Callum Turner (Masters of the Air and rumored next James Bond 007) is very nice guy and Pizza Shop owner Owen. He's ready to propose to his mousy girlfriend on the big night, but when that goes sideways, he's left wandering the streets of Manhattan looking for love, or at least an hour's worth. Potential candidates abound.
Owen's stop at his Mom Linda's (Molly Ringwald, very funny) drives big laughs, as she hurries to get him out of the house so she and her boyfriend Rick (LeVar Burton) can go at it. It's great to see Ringwald and Burton on screen, they are a lot of fun together.
Meanwhile, we meet session singer Allie (Monica Barbaro from "TopGun: Maverick" and "Crime 101") who's wrapping up singing about psoriasis for a commercial so that she can hit the town with her randy single friends.
Barbaro is excellent as Allie, radiating screen presence and personality in every scene. Her comic timing is excellent. Callum matches her with his onscreen persona and you spend the entire film hoping they'll get together.
Allie and Owen's adventures are not anything you'd expect. I never knew where the film was going, but it's well structured, funny and heartfelt.
I couldn't escape that the film felt like the best of Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral) with a futuristic twist. Like the best moments of those films, ONE NIGHT ONLY never goes quite where you'd expect it to, but populates its best moments with real heart and soul, along with sly social observations that hit home. And like "Love Actually", it's not afraid to push boundaries in its quest for love and laughs.
Mateo Ray is a standout as Troy, a young kid with a dirty mind that Allie's best friend babysits. Every time he pops in, he delivers great one-liners.
Charlie Gillespie is another stand out as Ezra Strong, a famous rocker who Allie has a crush on. When the two end up alone together, the scene reminded me of something out of Bogdonavich's "What's Up Doc?" with just how wrong it goes.
There is so much effortless charm from the cast that the film just flows toward a feel-good ending that left me with a big smile on my face.
I mentioned early on that the film has the raw sex appeal of some of the frank, sexy films of the 80's. In it's original edit, there was quite a bit more nudity and sexuality, but young audiences were put off by it. Gluck edited it all out so he wouldn't offend younger moviegoers. We're talking 18-25 year olds here... WHAT? HUH? What the hell......don't get me started, I'll just sit over here and shake my head.
One of the most original films of the year, I wonder if audiences didn't come to it because they couldn't quite grasp the concept. It's a shame. I'm betting that it finds its audience eventually. It deserves to.
ONE NIGHT ONLY is clever, funny, sexy and a hell of a lot of fun. Callum & Monica deliver true star power and surprising heart, all the way to an A.
"I'm ordering a pizza with extra cheese ... hold the KY."
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