Everything is a remix, but some combinations feel new. One Night Only, an upcoming rom-com starring Callum Turner and Monica Barbaro, might be one of those gems that achieves this freshness.
Directed and produced by Will Gluck (Easy A, Friends With Benefits), the film follows two strangers as they search for love on the one night a year pre-marital sex is legal. Like The Purge, but more puritan.
The leading pair are aided by an all-star supporting cast that includes Molly Ringwald, LeVar Burton, and Maya Hawke. This, plus the fact that the script (by Travis Braun) topped the famous Black List chart and won the prestigious title of best liked unproduced screenplay, means the film comes with a lot of expectations.
While there are plenty of great scripts that have been the basis for bad movies, Gluck’s rom-com pedigree and the stacked call sheet point to at least a light-hearted summer hit. Turner has plenty of big screen experience, and Barbaro’s recent turn as Joan Baez in the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown earned her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, both good signs in a film with a premise that leans heavily on its leads.
The concept itself is also quite intriguing, and on its own is probably enough to get some more casual viewers in. It will also be interesting to see the reaction in America, given the increasing power of extremist Christian sects in the country. Depressingly, the most unrealistic thing about this premise might just be that the incredibly good looking Turner and Barbaro would struggle to find someone to have sex with.
In a world of sequels and rehashes One Night Only already stands out. What remains to be seen is if it can live up to its potential.
One Night Only is in theaters August 7 2026.
(featured image: Gage Sidmore)
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