One Night Only

Director: Will Gluck
Starring: Monica Barbaro, Callum Turner, Maya Hawke, Molly Ringwald, LeVar Burton, Julia Fox, Charlie Gillespie, Michelle Hurd, King Princess, Quintessa Swindell, Andrew Burnap, Mike Birbiglia, Okieriete Onaodowan, Ben Marshall, Nicholas Braun, Pete Davidson, Bobby Cannavale
Running Time: 102 min.
Rating: R

 

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)   

Just when you think you've seen everything in a romantic comedy, along comes One Night Only to flip the familiar on its head with a surprisingly clever and inspired premise. If When Harry Met Sally had a baby with The Purge, the result would likely resemble this, which is actually a huge compliment considering this isn't exactly in a genre associated with risk taking. Boasting a wildly ambitious sci-fi adjacent plot, it's easily director Will Gluck's best effort since his 2010 surprise hit Easy A helped make a star out of Emma Stone. And with more attention, it could have done the same for this lead actress, especially since so much of the film's charm rests on her ability to sell some tricky material. 

Walking a razor's edge between conventional Hollywood rom com and social commentary, Travis Braun's script utilizes that underappreciated device of having all the action take place over the course of a single night. Time's running out for two people who aren't necessarily forced into spending this dystopian holiday together, yet somehow do anyway. Under normal circumstances, it should feel contrived, but on this crazy night, all bets are off. In finding creative ways around them coming to their senses, this story successfully exploits an idea crazier than the implausible coincidences it creates. Basically, once you buy into the circumstances, the ensuing chaos suddenly becomes a lot easier to digest.  

In an alternate near future where premarital sex is outlawed by the government, single people are granted an annual one night exemption when they're legally allowed to do so. While pizza shop owner Owen (Callum Turner) intends to propose to quirky girlfriend Malika (Maya Hawke) and consummate their relationship, she'd rather sleep with their building's superintendent. Meanwhile, drug commercial jingle singer and hopeless romantic Allie (Monica Barbaro) hits the bars with best friend Jacinta (King Princess) hoping to find a real connection after a bad experience the prior year. 

When Owen and the barely dressed Allie realize their plans have fallen through, both frantically search the streets of a horny New York City for some action, repeatedly crossing paths. As each make awful choices and contend with a handful of weirdos, it's clear they're on "parallel tracks," with Allie doing everything she can to avoid acknowledging the obvious. The question is whether there's enough time left for them to get on the same page before that window closes and they face the prospect of another sexless year. 

Cutting back-and-forth between Owen and Allie as they separately prepare for a night that's already showing signs of disaster, we acclimate ourselves to an alternate version of society that doesn't seem too far off from our own. And though much of this might be driven by budget or necessity, it's one of the screenplay's stronger aspects, grounding a concept that could have easily come across as too gimmicky with a heavier hand. Save for banned premarital sex, the entire atmosphere is recognizably current, making for a timelier, relatable story that forces us to consider how this ban would play out if instituted tomorrow. 

While exemption night is an undeniable thrill for some and a trainwreck for others, it sure is interesting to see how the film conveys its consequences through a plethora of reoccurring details like designated wrist tattoos and parole violations. And this doesn't even account for the inherent dangers and overall skeeviness that accompanies a designated period of pure hedonism, causing far more problems than this totalitarian government claims the legalization of premarital sex would. This is heady stuff for a comedy, making it even more remarkable it's as funny as it is. 

You feel an immediate attachment to both characters since each are searching for something a little different, but not really. Owen's relationship just hit the skids and Allie's toiling away singing goofy commercial cover songs in a hilarious running gag that only gets funnier with each new tune. And if their initial encounter seems underwhelming, that's exactly the point, with us seeing as little potential in this pairing as they do. 

Allie and Owen try going their separate ways, but still intersect in a series of misadventures that find them battling over the last condom in NYC, inadvertently hooking up with criminals, crashing parties and getting hauled into the police station. One of the best sequences involves Allie getting hit on by a string of terrible guys hoping the desperation of exemption night is enough for them to get lucky. They may be right. Just not with her. 

Academy Award nominee Monica Barbaro delivers a superstar making turn as Allie that's sharp, witty and charismatic, unafraid of going to all the self effacing places that carry a classic R-rated rom-com. She's also great at physical comedy, accomplishing as much with her body and gestures as she does with the dialogue. And if that isn't enough, she manages to sing intentionally bad songs really well, hammering home Allie's hidden talent and lingering insecurities. 

Disarmingly likable leading man Callum Turner holds up his end as the persistent Owen by sharing magnetically natural chemistry with his co-star and eliciting sympathy for a decent, hardworking guy who can't seem to catch a break. Maya Hawke is perfect as wacky, self-centered girlfriend Malika while the ingenious casting of Molly Ringwald and the great LeVar Burton as Owen's ditzy mom and her eccentric boyfriend bring the laughs alongside a few other expertly placed cameos. 

Even after all this, Allie still can't see in Owen what's been staring her straight in the face the whole time. And just when we think that maybe she does, it could be too late.The clock's definitely ticking for these two, just not in the matter we think, as the film uses its high concept to explore an idea far simpler, but more profound, conveying how anyone's 12 hour pass is only as meaningless or meaningful as they choose to make it. To top it off Gluck also nails an authentically earned pizza shop conversation in the last act that represents the kind of honest scene most movies of this ilk get completely wrong.

It's a credit to the performances and this scenario that we still have doubts whether these characters will end up together, fully investing us on a level unusual for mainstream romantic comedies. But for mostly inexplicable reasons, critics and audiences gave the film a tough time, seemingly forgetting how often they've begged for something that breaks from the typical formula. This does, using a fresh concept to bring its mismatched pair together, but still daring to ask where they could possibly go from there. 

Anyone But You

Director: Will Gluck
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Alexandra Shipp, GaTa, Hadley Robinson, Michelle Hurd, Dermot Mulroney, Darren Barnet, Bryan Brown, Rachel Griffiths, Charlee Fraser, Joe Davidson
Running Time: 103 min.
Rating: R

★★½ (out of ★★★★)  

The most surprising detail about the romantic comedy Anyone But You is that it features two ascending talents who happen to have a lot of on screen chemistry. The premise isn't terrible either, especially when the focus remains on them rather than an overstuffed cast of exes, in-laws, siblings, spouses and parents. But even its likable leads can't seem to stop this from losing its way, as a promising concept becomes increasingly familiar. Director and co-writer Will Gluck does a decent enough job hiding it, but there's just no escaping the fact this mostly hinges on single piece of information we know that the main characters don't. At some point you realize this will eventually settle into the rhythms of a more traditional rom-com, despite taking a more circuitous route to get there.

What we're left with is a mixed bag that should increase everyone's appreciation of its leads, both of whom do their best to elevate the material. And while one seems more at home in this genre than the other, the mind still races at all the possibilities of them re-teaming, hopefully in a project better than this. The film's unexpected commercial success can largely be attributed to their perseverance amidst a smattering of gags from the supporting players that rarely connect. It's a strain most felt in the latter section, as multiple complications work to delay what should be a fairly simple, satisfying payoff.

While frantically attempting to obtain a key to the coffee shop restroom, Boston University law student Bea (Sydney Sweeney) meets finance broker Ben (Glen Powell) and they immediately hit it off. After spending the rest of the day together, she stays over at his apartment that night, but a misunderstanding unfolds when she abruptly leaves the next morning. They don't see each other again until months later when Bea's sister Halle (Hadley Robinson) begins dating Ben's best friend Pete's (GaTa) sister Claudia (Alexandra Shipp). 

At each other's throats over the disastrous ending of that date, Bea and Ben must temporarily put their differences aside for Halle and Claudia's destination wedding in Sydney, Australia. But tensions further escalate when their exes, Jonathan (Darren Barnett) and Margaret (Charlee Fraser) arrive, prompting Bea and Ben to hide their mutual disdain and pose as a couple. It's game on, at least until they come to the realization they may not be over each other after all.

After an awkward but promising start, a relatively straightforward narrative is hijacked by an overabundance of characters and obstacles, losing trust in its two leads to do what they mostly excel at the whole way through. In fact, you argue they actually improve together as this progresses while everything and everyone surrounding them distracts from that, undermining the film's central purpose. 

Bea is initially depicted as a total disaster, and while the setup works, it relies on goofy physical comedy that puts Sweeney in a tough spot since she fares better when playing a sly, sarcastic schemer in her scenes opposite Powell. Displaying great comedic timing and a charismatic presence that recalls a younger Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt, Powell's upside is such that this role can at least be referenced down the line for launching him into future stardom. That both capably glide through some of the more problematic sections on their interplay alone is no small feat considering you need a detailed chart to track the other characters, which also include Bea's helicopter parents (Dermot Mulroney and Rachel Griffiths) and Margaret's oafish surfer boyfriend (Joe Davidson). 

Supposedly, this is loosely based on Much Ado About Nothing, albeit very loosely. We know only one thing matters, but Gluck sure does jump through hoops to delay arriving at that destination. Some jokes, like ones involving Titanic and the use of a ubiquitous pop song are cutely clever, even if others flop hard. Still, there's something to be said for him sticking the landing with one of those showy, impossibly romantic endings that lesser filmmakers always manage to botch. Anyone But You may be slightly better than its generic title suggests, but too much of what comes before is iffier, holding this back from completely besting expectations.