Will Gluck’s new film ‘One Night Only’ is a Los Angeles heart stuck in a New York soul, where Callum Turner and Monica Barbaro struggle to ignite chemistry. The movie attempts to weave the complexities of modern love into a single night's narrative.
- Will Gluck's new film, ‘One Night Only’, set over a single night, falls flat despite a promising premise.
- The lack of chemistry between leads Callum Turner and Monica Barbaro significantly impacts the film's emotional depth.
- The portrayal of New York City is superficial, detracting from the intended romantic atmosphere.
- Writer Travis Braun's screenplay is shallow, treating the central conflict like a punchline with little emotional layering.
- The film fails to explore the nuances of modern relationships, feeling like a rehash of familiar rom-com tropes.
It is rather ironic that Will Gluck’s glossy, casual rom-com, ‘One Night Only’ comes out just over a month after ‘The Invite’, Olivia Wilde’s revelatory, tragic-comic breakdown of modern love. Even though both the films take place over the course of a night, Gluck barely manages to rise beyond the sure-shot click-bait of a premise, as he virtually reimagines parts of his own earlier work, mixed with snippets of the great American rom-com trope. Guy and girl have an awkward chance meeting, they hate each other but fate gets them together each time. They don’t see what’s brewing but we do as eyes meet, conversations mature and a connection is made. The get-together is not without its share of last-minute realisations followed by runs around the city to go to a ‘special place’ and finding the other waiting, with a smile that explains it all. Its a journey we have seen; its a structure we have loved. But this ‘One Night Only’ ain’t it.
The beauty of this love-finds-all-in-New York fairytale, lies primarily in the tenderness of its protagonists. The city is as much part of the romance as the two individuals. But in ‘One Night Only’, the city feels like a distant disco-land; its characteristic texture and poetic resolve gives way for a more flashy outcome. The film practically has a Los Angeles heart stuck in a New York soul and the weight of that change of rhythm is felt by the protagonists more than anyone.
‘One Night Only’ (English)
- Director: Will Gluck
- Cast: Callum Turner, Monica Barbaro, Maya Hawke, Molly Ringwald, LeVar Burton
- Duration: 102 minutes
- Synopsis: A recently broken-up Pizza shop owner and a jingle singer repeatedly cross each other’s paths during the chaotic 12-hour annual exception when intimacy is legally permitted between non-married couples.
Allie (Monica Barbaro) and Owen (Callum Turner) are inherent romantics, who are not too pleased to navigate their way through that one night when law allows unmarried folks to have sex. Allie is looking for connection before she can get intimate with a stranger while Owen’s plans of proposing to his girlfriend on the night are easily cut-short when she announces to spend time with another man. Juggling across New York without anyone to spend time with, the two pass through the same streets, looking disjointedly at others getting passionately intimate until they bump into one another. A series of misadventures follow as they race along to steal the last remaining packet of condom from a general store and end up getting robbed and fooled without really finding their ‘it’ moment of the night.
Why This Matters
BozokMedia analysis shows that films like ‘One Night Only’, which attempt to capture the complexities of modern romance and intimacy in a light-hearted manner, often fall short. Without genuine emotional connection between characters and a deeper philosophical underpinning, they fail to resonate with the audience. This film, in an era demanding narrative innovation and authentic character portrayals, feels like a pale imitation of past successes.
“This film is a shallow attempt at exploring the complexities of modern love, marred by a severe lack of chemistry between its leads, which is fatal for this genre.”
Writer Travis Braun’s bumpy screenplay approaches the central conflict with the eccentricity of a punchline and later forgets to layer it up with what would have made for a stirring thought-experiment. Every scene operates here like a gag, seldom building space for tension to rise between the pair. The autocratic nature of the sex mandate, with the state poking its nose in people’s bedroom, is surprisingly well-received by everyone without any sign of revolt apart from a one-glimpse character, who defied the law and was punished. The presence of a dystopian reality in the midst is never considered as a fascinating outcome and so, the ‘switch’ in the premise doesn’t really explore anything novel about the transactionality of urban relationships and the loneliness which it uphelds.
At a time when yesteryear rom-com narratives are being reinvented into edgier means — like in the audacious twist in ‘The Drama’ or the unpredictable treatment of ‘The Materialists’ — ‘One Night Only’ merely wants to reignite the memory of those light-hearted dramas, where the stakes don’t guide the fate of a relationship. Gluck’s very own, ‘Friends With Benefits’ (2011) and his last, ‘Anyone But You’ (2023) followed that stupidly comic and sporadically emotive mind scape. But, ‘One Night Only’ needs more charm than it ultimately receives from Gluck’s tried-and-tested, happy-go-lucky and cozier-than-thou attitude, which seems to compensate for the excessive dose of biology with an absence of chemistry between the leads.
Owen and Allie don’t find any spark in their hearts with their routine handling by Turner and Barbaro. There is little sign to believe that the two could be made for each other even when the film gives them enough moments to claim their romantic moulds. They play their parts with the normative extensions of such characters seen before than with a newfound excitement of going through all of it for the very first time. When he looks at her as she sings on stage, the moment fizzles out much before the actual song hits the right notes.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who are the main characters in ‘One Night Only’ and what is their story?
- Is the portrayal of New York City effective in the film?
