What are critics saying about 'One Night Only' starring Callum Turner and Moncia Barbaro? | indy100

One Night Only Official Trailer

Universal Pictures

2026 has been a big year for rom coms, and the latest one has intriguingly been the rom-com version of The Purge - but what's the verdict?

One Night Only follows the story of Allie and Owen, two love-starved strangers who meet in an "ever-so-slightly fictionalized New York City on the one night of the year when single people are allowed to have sex."

The leads are Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown, Top Gun: Maverick) and BAFTA nominee Callum Turner (Masters of the Air, Fantastic Beasts franchise).

"Recently dumped Owen and hopeful romantic Allie might be the only two singles in the city looking for more than just a quick encounter," the plot synopsis reads.

: L-R) Callum Turner and Monica Barbaro attend the "One Night Only" New York Premiere at SVA Theater on August 03, 2026 in New York City.Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

"They both feel a spark when they meet, but a series of missteps and side quests complicate their night, keeping them apart. As they each race toward and away from each other across the city, they just might discover that the one thing they want most is closer than they think."

The cast also includes Maya Hawke (Stranger Things), Julia Fox (Uncut Gems), indie pop sensation King Princess (Nine Perfect Strangers), Ben Marshall (Saturday Night Live), Ziwe (Baited with Ziwe), as well as acting icons Molly Ringwald and Levar Burton.

One Night Only is co-written, directed, and produced by Will Gluck (his previous work includes Easy A (2010), Friends with Benefits (2011), the Peter Rabbit films (2018–2021), and Anyone but You (2023)), and is based on a script by Travis Braun.

What are critics saying?

(L-R) Monica Barbaro as Aliie, and Callum Turner as Owen.Universal Pictures

One Night Only has received mixed reviews from critics and currently has a 45 per cent critics score on film and TV review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, meanwhile it's received more positive reception from viewers as it's audience score sits at 73 per cent.

Meanwhile it has a score of 6.4 out of 10 on IMDb, and a 2.9 out of 5 rating on Letterboxd.

The Guardian's Benjamin Lee rated the film two stars, writing: "There’s both too much yet not enough world-building here, enough questions answered to encourage us to ask 10 more. It’s also just too unavoidably grim of a premise, especially at a dark political moment such as this."

"Luckily for director Will Gluck, who is tasked with turning this flimsy concept into fizzy fun, he has two charming leads in Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner. Their easygoing chemistry makes us root for them to get over the many contrived hurdles," said The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney.

Variety's Guy Lodge wrote, "If “One Night Only” is aiming to comment on the hollow, ineffective nature of much contemporary political activism, then job done. But it’s hard to shake the sense that no commentary on anything in particular is intended here."

"With nothing to say about sex or society, the repression plot mostly gets in the way of a movie that would prefer to be a routine romance," noted The New York Times's Natalia Winkelman.

"One Night Only isn’t bawdy or trenchant enough for its concept or quite sweet enough for its romance. It’s more successful as a meta comedy about a pair of charismatic Hollywood stars reckoning with their onscreen sex appeal," said Associated Press's Jake Coyle.

TIME'S Stephanie Zacharek wrote, "One Night Only still believes in the glorious unpredictability of New York, just as it believes in love and freedom and the joy and messiness of amorous adventures. It’s a movie extolling the pleasures of sex and the city, in that order."

When is the film out?

One Night Only was released in US cinemas on August 8, meanwhile the film comes out in UK cinemas on August 28.

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