Variety film critic Guy Lodge reviews "One Night Only," a romantic comedy directed by Will Gluck and starring Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner, arguing that its bizarre dystopian premise undermines what could otherwise have been an appealing date-night film. Despite strong star chemistry and an inviting New York setting, the film's high-concept hook—premarital sex is illegal except on one government-sanctioned night a year—proves too unsettling and distracting for the breezy tone the film attempts to maintain.

The review notes that the film opens with title cards explaining that premarital sex was outlawed three years earlier, with an annual exemption dubbed "National Sex Night," enforced via tracking chips implanted in citizens' wrists. Lodge contrasts the setup with "The Handmaid's Tale" and "The Purge," suggesting the script by Travis Braun and Gluck's bright, upbeat direction treat this dystopian backdrop merely as a device to speed up the central romance between Owen (Turner), a pizzeria owner, and Allie (Barbaro), an aspiring singer, rather than grappling with its darker implications. The film follows Gluck's previous romcom hit "Anyone but You."