‘One Night Only’: this limp romcom will give no one a happy ending

I magine an alternate reality where premarital sex is only lawful for one night of the year.

Thanks to a US government mandate, the police can arrest anyone who’s caught bang(ed) to rights, and everyone has an Orwellian wrist tattoo that switches from red to green when the 12-hour exemption period begins.

It sounds like the pitch for a pretty grim dystopian thriller, but it’s actually the USP of this old-school romcom.

How old-school? It’s opening in cinemas, not going straight to streaming.

Read more: The best films of 2026… so far! Though One Night Only is directed by Will Gluck, who gave the genre a shot in the arm with 2023’s Sydney Sweeney-Glenn Powell hit Anyone But You , it never quite hits its stride.

In theory, a romcom can overcome any icky premise.

In 1990’s irresistible Pretty Woman , a Hollywood sex worker falls for a jaded one-percenter who pays her to spend time with him, but that film had Julia Roberts’ incandescent charisma and some great set-pieces.

One Night Only has an appealing lead duo, Monica Barbaro ( A Complete Unknown ) and Callum Turner ( Masters Of The Air ), but their chemistry is tepid rather than sweltering.

The story begins as the clock ticks down to the annual 12-hour window where premarital sex is actually allowed.

Pizza shop owner Owen (Turner) has planned a romantic evening with his girlfriend Malika ( Maya Hawke ), but she tells him over sushi that she’d rather bed someone else.

It doesn’t really make sense – why didn’t Malika break the news before the big night? – but then again, little about this film does bear scrutiny.

Monica Barbaro and King Princess in ‘One Night Only’.

CREDIT: Universal Meanwhile, jingle singer Allie (Barbaro) is single and ready to mingle, though she only wants to go all the way with a guy she really vibes with.

Owen and Allie don’t know each other, but it’s pretty fun watching their paths cross as they bar-hop around New York City on a night when everyone wants to get laid.