In my twenties, I used to go out drinking a lot. Sure, I was there to hang out with my friends, but I was also on the prowl. This used to be my foolproof recipe for getting a guy to hit on me: go to the bar to order a round of drinks, find a cute guy, and smile at him while thinking about pizza. The light in my eyes never failed to reel them in. Of course, now I'm an old married lady who doesn't drink and red sauce gives me heartburn, but I think this method would be super effective in the world of One Night Only. In the new rom-com from Anyone But You director Will Gluck, single people are only allowed to have sex for one night of the year, and mere eye contact is enough for most people to jump on the first person available.
Allie (Monica Barbaro) is a singer whose career has taken a disappointing turn, and she feels conflicted about going out with the specific intention to get laid. What ever happened to romance? Owen (Callum Turner) is a pizza shop owner who is planning on proposing to his girlfriend, until she reveals that she wants to spend her free night with someone else. Through a series of mishaps and misadventures, Allie and Owen traverse New York City, looking for the chance to hook up with anyone but each other. Can they find love when everyone is looking for sex?
On its opening weekend, One Night Only flopped, with just over $5 million in box office. However, from the frothing discourse about the movie all over the internet, you'd think it was a smash hit that everyone has seen. One prong of internet fury is about the supposed sexlessness of movies. Director Will Gluck has admitted that the script had more explicit material, but he cut it out because audiences reacted negatively to explicit nudity and sex acts. Apparently, this is a crisis in filmmaking and indicates that younger generations are prudish sexphobes. But, as a rom-com connoisseur, I can testify that the vast majority of rom-coms do not have sex in them at all. If they do, it's implied or off-screen. The classic 90s rom-coms have no nudity whatsoever, and the streaming rom-coms typically give you a shirtless man at best.
But One Night Only actually has lots of sex. You see Callum Turner in his underwear, you see Monica Barbaro's butt, you see dozens of people making out and grinding on each other, you see silhouettes of sex acts, and you see implications of group sex and other kinky activities. It's a movie about the joylessness of pursuing sex without love, which I guess could be considered conservative or whatever, but that's also a pretty universal experience of casual sex. Barbaro and Turner have great chemistry, and the scenes where they get physical promise that these two could achieve some real heat.
The other discourse is about the absurd premise of the movie. And to be fair, the premise falls apart immediately as soon as you examine it. Why wouldn't people just get married and then divorce? Why are queer people seemingly exempt from the laws? How is all of this enforced, and why isn't everyone protesting in the streets about the unfairness of the law? One Night Only is sold as "The Purge for sex," and I would just point out that the premise of The Purge is equally stupid, and it made $34 million dollars on its opening weekend. To use a current example, Spiderman: Brand New Day has made over a billion dollars, and the premise of that movie is "a wizard cast a spell that made everyone forget that a man with spider powers exists." Since when do we need movie premises to make sense?
The reason the discourse is so surprising to me is that I found this to be a charming, funny rom-com with some great cameos, a fun concept, and young stars on the rise. When I saw it in theaters the crowd seemed to enjoy themselves, and I think that once this hits streaming it will get a whole new life. Check it out when it pops up!
What was your move to hit on guys in your twenties? Let me know!