鈥淭he Purge鈥� for sex is the best way to describe the premise of unless you prefer Shirley Jackson鈥檚 鈥淭he Lottery鈥� for one-night stands.
As the movie announces right away: The U.S. government has passed a mandate that premarital sex is illegal except for one night a year. For the past three years, sex out of wedlock has been off limits except for an annual 12-hour reprieve. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a lot,鈥� reads the opening title cards.
Such a concept, naturally, spawns a lot of questions. How could such a policy be policed? Where, exactly, are the lines drawn? And why hasn鈥檛 everyone moved to Canada?
But 鈥淥ne Night Only,鈥� directed by Will Gluck (鈥淓asy A,鈥� 鈥淎nyone But You鈥�), is less interested in extrapolating the potentially very bizarre ramifications of its dystopian concept than it is selling a surprisingly tame romantic tale. 鈥淥ne Night Only鈥� may be dressed up as a raunchy sex comedy, but it鈥檚 a rom-com at heart, and a chaste one at that.
That makes 鈥淥ne Night Only鈥� a disappointingly denuded comedy without the gumption to interrogate its satirical gimmick. And yet its charming leads, Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner, do enough to keep 鈥淥ne Night Only鈥� pleasantly watchable.
The health of the rom-com is perpetually debated, but one of the genre鈥檚 most abiding benefits is in giving young stars an uncluttered big-screen stage to shine on. Turner, the Bond-rumored British actor, has already appeared in one (also monogamy-friendly) rom-com in last year鈥檚
But 鈥淥ne Night Only鈥� is an especially welcome showcase for Barbaro, who has thus far stood out largely in male-dominated ensembles ( 鈥淎 Complete Unknown,鈥� ). So, while 鈥淥ne Night Only鈥� is unlikely to be a standout in her filmography, it鈥檚 the one that most proves her lead-actor incandescence.
One of the biggest stretches in a movie full of them is that these two 鈥� neither of whom are exactly hard on the eyes 鈥� are among the only ones striking out on a night dedicated to scoring. Owen (Turner), who runs a Manhattan pizzeria, has his engagement plans thwarted when his longtime girlfriend (Maya Hawke) says she plans to sleep with someone else. Allie (Barbaro), meanwhile, is a single singer (she gets paid to belt out pharmaceutical jingles) who has to be coaxed by her friends into even going out.
Both are romantics on a night for flings. After bumping into each other and meeting on the street, they spend the night traversing New York, separately but often together, through nightclub escapades and condom shortages.
In Travis Braun鈥檚 high-concept script, the cleverest parody isn鈥檛 of conservative political intervention in private sex lives. It鈥檚 of a swipe-right sex culture, where old-fashioned romance is hard to find. But 鈥淥ne Night Only鈥� 鈥� populated in product placement ads from Durex to K-Y 鈥� has little about it that suggests something particularly sincere.
Instead, 鈥淥ne Night Only鈥� constantly feels like it鈥檚 narrowing its many possibilities. Early on, one character notes the night belongs to the straights because gay people long ago learned to circumvent repressive restrictions. Instead of widening its satire into contemporary sex life, Gluck鈥檚 film turns throwback, even leading to a climax atop a New York landmark.
So 鈥淥ne Night Only鈥� isn鈥檛 bawdy or trenchant enough for its concept or quite sweet enough for its romance. It鈥檚 more successful as a meta comedy about a pair of charismatic Hollywood stars reckoning with their onscreen sex appeal. Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell and Pete Davidson all make a kind of cameo. And on that score, neither Barbaro nor Turner have much to worry about.
Hopefully, though, there are more 鈥淧urge鈥� riffs to come. One night only for 鈥� backgammon? Just imagine the chaos.
鈥淥ne Night Only,鈥� a Universal Pictures release in theaters Thursday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for sexual material, language and brief nudity. Running time: 102 minutes. Two stars out of four.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
