One Night Only is a romantic comedy with a high concept that is bolstered by the chemistry of its two attractive leads. In the film, directed by Will Gluck, the government has passed a mandate that sex should be exclusively between married couples, except for one night a year when premarital sex is legal. It’s a rom-com with a hook, and nowadays, that hook is necessary to gain the interest of moviegoers. So, if One Night Only was your jam, here are five films to check out that should be right up your alley if you enjoyed this latest rom-com excursion.
5. Friends with Benefits (2011)
Will Gluck likes to explore the dynamics between male and female relationships, and one of his more hilarious dives into this is when he tackled the notion of bringing sex into a friendship without it causing any complications. In Friends with Benefits, a film he also wrote, Dylan Harper (Justin Timberlake) and Jamie Rellis (Mila Kunis) first meet in New York City, and both believe that bringing sex into their friendship won’t lead to any problems. However, in true rom-com fashion, they begin to develop feelings for each other only to deny them every time they get together.
Friends with Benefits came out the same year as the similarly themed No Strings Attached, but the former fares much better than the latter because Gluck’s screenplay plays things a bit less safe, and it’s riddled with fun, snappy dialogue that the two leads handle like absolute pros. It helps that their banter isn’t limited to the confines of the genre and that they get to spout off pop culture references and engage in conversations that feel more real than the standard romantic comedy fare. Gluck’s screenplay is also very self-aware, poking fun at genre conventions and tropes while finding a way to genuinely embrace them.
At the heart of the film, though, is the electric chemistry between Timberlake and Kunis, who share a natural rapport with each other that makes the audience feel their evolution from friends to something more. The emotional payoff plays out well in the end, and everything feels earned in a romantic comedy that certainly performed well at the time of its release ($149.5 million worldwide on a $35 million budget) but could stand to get more credit as a rom-com that helped keep the genre alive a bit longer on the big screen.
4. Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008)
The exploits of One Night Only transpire over one crazy 24-hour period, but if you want something a bit sweeter that is a single night-long adventure, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist might be for you. Directed by Peter Sollett and from a screenplay by Lorene Scafaria, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist is based on the novel of the same name by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan and follows teenagers Nick (Michael Cera) and Norah (Kat Dennings), who meet when Norah asks Nick to pretend to be her boyfriend for five minutes.
As they go through the night, the pair try to locate their favorite band’s secret show while also searching for Norah’s drunk friend. The best thing that can be said about Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist is that you can feel every ounce of it. From the awkwardness to the electricity of the unexpected night through New York City, the film feels completely lived in and instantly relatable. The film is a meet-cute that doesn’t rush the romance. There is realistic pacing between the pair that comes together over the course of a crazy night through New York City’s indie music scene. Cera and Dennings are so likable that the audience is willing to spend this night with them without necessarily longing for them to get together.
It’s all about the journey that takes place over one transformative night. Atmosphere is also key in the film, with Manhattan’s Lower East Side and the underclubs they pass through feeling like vibrant characters in their own right. The same can be said for the film’s soundtrack, which is an indie-rock fan’s dream from top to bottom. The music isn’t just there for background noise. It becomes a supporting character that helps drive the growing connection between the leads. Speaking of the leads, Cera and Dennings complement each other in the best way. Cera’s earnestness mixed with Dennings’ sharp wit makes for impeccable chemistry that makes the audience want to spend this night with them through the indie-rock scene.
3. In Time (2011)
In Time isn’t a rom-com, but it is a high-concept sci-fi film that has similar mandates that dictate how people live their day-to-day lives. Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, In Time takes place in a dystopian future when people are genetically engineered to stop aging on their 25th birthday. Time has become the primary currency, and each inhabitant has a subdermal tattoo-like countdown digital clock located on their left forearm that will kill them once they time out.
In Time, since its release, has been viewed as a film whose premise is better than its execution, and while that might be true, the concept alone is so interesting that the film remains compelling throughout. The stakes always feel high as time and work become a race against the clock to add more currency to your life. Working your job earns you more time to stay alive, but by essentials, since prices are measured in time, can cost you valuable minutes. It presents a compelling social commentary about class struggles and the divide between the rich and the poor.
The rich are afforded more opportunities to live forever in total opulence while the poor struggle in industrial zones as their time frequently slips away. It’s a fast-paced film with interesting ideas, and it’s led by a talented cast, including Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, and Cillian Murphy, who shines as the movie’s central “Timekeeper” antagonist. In Time was successful when it was released, grossing $174 million worldwide on a $40 million budget, but its reputation has remained mixed. The best films make us discuss their concepts long after they’re over, and in that regard, at least In Time has something interesting to say that engages conversations. Even if the execution isn’t as tight as it should be.
2. The Purge (2013)
One Night Only’s premarital sex is legal for one night a year premise has been compared relentlessly to the 2013 horror film The Purge in many reviews, and honestly, it’s a fair comparison. There is nothing romantic or funny about The Purge, but one has to imagine that screenwriter Travis Braun, who penned One Night Only, had to be inspired by it in some way. Written and directed by James DeMonaco, The Purge is set in 2022 and follows a family as they come under siege by a gang of murderers in their home during the annual Purge, the one night a year when all crime, including murder, is legal.
The Purge thrives on its high-concept of lawlessness that creates its own tension, even if the movie isn’t completely concerned with exploring the bigger ideas of what this government-sanctioned night actually means. There is underlying social commentary at play. The lead is a wealthy security systems salesman named James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) who lives in an affluent Los Angeles gated community with all the bells and whistles to wait out the purge while the poor and less fortunate have to take on the brunt of the violence of the night. The idea is that this one night allows everyone to exorcise their criminality, resulting in less crime throughout the year, but it’s honestly an undercover method to wipe out the vulnerable and lower class.
There are compelling ideas about class division and moral complicity, but once the effects of the purge enter the Sandin home, the movie becomes more concerned about being a standard home invasion thriller. It’s not exactly a detriment as the film remains entertaining throughout, but the film presents ideas that are far more interesting than the “we have to keep these people out of our home” thriller that it turns into. Still, it’s a compelling concept that has been explored across several sequels that vary in quality, and perhaps the franchise deserves credit for having a hook that is at least interesting and isn’t your standard horror movie fare.
1. Palm Springs (2020)
Probably one of the best high-concept rom-coms, or rom-coms in general, to come out in the last few years is Palm Springs, a film that utilizes its time-loop formula to great effect and matches it with quick wit and engaging lead performances. Directed by Max Barbakow, in his feature directorial debut and from a screenplay by Andy Siara, Palm Springs follows two strangers who meet at a wedding in Palm Springs and find themselves stuck in a time loop.
Many films have used the Groundhog Day time-loop formula, but Palm Springs makes things unique by having Andy Samberg’s Nyles already trapped in this forever repeat rather than having him waking up and confused at the start. There is a sense of cynicism that Nyles has regarding his situation until Sarah (Cristin Milioti) accidentally gets pulled into the time loop, which shifts his solo journey of untold eternity living this way into one of the more dysfunctional meet-cutes we have seen in a very long time. Samberg and Milioti share an effortless and electric chemistry that is equally played for laughs and emotional impact.
They’re engaged in this shared misery of repeating November 9, but through that misery, they form a bond that becomes the emotional core of the film. Palm Springs has moments of being laugh-out-loud funny (J.K. Simmons steals scenes as Roy, a man stuck in a bitter feud with Nyles), but it also brings up genuine questions about loneliness and having a sense of purpose. If you’re stuck in a repetitive loop of monotony, do you become complacent or do you work to change it?
Palm Springs struck a definite chord when it was released in 2020 because it premiered during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, and many watchers could identify with its theme of isolated monotony. It was a film that likely made many people feel like they weren’t alone in their feelings, but even years removed from that event, Palm Springs emerges as a fresh take on the romantic comedy that utilized genre tropes while speaking to the day-to-day of human existence.
One Night Only is now playing in theaters nationwide.
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