Narrative pieces lack chemistry in Night
Your ability to compartmentalize will determine whether you like Will Gluck’s odd new rom-com One Night Only. If you can accept an oppressive dystopian society pitched in a kinda light-hearted tone and forget about a key part of the premise, you’ll likely be charmed. But if, like me, you can’t quite let go of the numerous incongruous elements at play, this will likely be a frustrating experience.
One part The Purge, one part When Harry Met Sally, (imagine the elevator pitch), the film takes place in modern-day New York City with a twist. Seems three years earlier, the government outlawed premarital sex. However, for one 12-hour period per year, singles are allowed to indulge, albeit with protection. (A tracking chip makes sure everyone toes the celibacy-line the other 364 days a year, in case you’re wondering.)
Not much time is spent delving into the whys and wherefores of this policy. We’re simply supposed to accept this “clever” fly in the narrative ointment and get on with things. However, this was something I couldn’t quite get past, tripped up again and again with questions regarding the implications of all this.
A much more intriguing story would have dealt with how this all came to be and what the reaction to this draconian measure was. Did the youth of America take this lying down or was there an uprising? What were the political ramifications of this? Did it lead to a mass-exodus to a more sex-friendly country like Canada? How many prophylactic companies shut their doors? And just how did this affect the country’s rate of marriages and divorces?
Obviously, screenwriter Travis Braun is not aware of the acronym KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). A gimmick such as this isn’t necessary to create a convincing modern love story. It only serves as a distraction, a shoot-yourself-in-the-foot move that dooms things from the start.
Fortunately, the winning chemistry between the film’s two leads is almost enough to help the viewer overlook this flaw. Callum Turner is Owen, a hunky, rather goofy pizzeria owner who has been dealt a setback. At a romantic dinner where he planned to propose, his girlfriend Malinka (Maya Hawke) informs him she’d like their relationship to be open so they (she) can take advantage of the 12-hour hall pass. Needless to say, this leaves him a bit despondent.
Meanwhile, Allie (Monica Barbaro), a would-be singer who makes it by recording advertising jingles based on pop tunes, finds herself flying solo as well. Her wing-person, Jacinta (King Princess) hooks up early in the evening and leaves her to fend for herself. Intent on just staying in, her roommate concocts a dressed-to-kill ensemble for her to wear and sends her out to get lucky.
Owen and Allie’s meet-cute is acceptable but takes a rather disgusting turn. This sets off a series of events that find the two separating but crossing paths again and again, as they traipse through the hedonistic night. Gluck does a fine job keeping things upbeat and light, various scenes involving Allie’s bad luck finding potential partners generating comic gold again and again.
Yet, this tone clashes with the premise of oppression that keeps sneaking in. Confusing matters even more is when the notion of romance between the two leads is introduced. Of course, we know Owen and Allie will eventually cast off their blinders and realize who they’ve been looking for has been in front of them all along. Yet, these romantic notions can’t help but add to the tonal confusion of the entire film.
Am I thinking too much about what is supposed to be a frivolous piece of entertainment? Perhaps. Night will likely satisfy those with a rom-com itch that needs to be scratched. As for me, I couldn’t help thinking a far more interesting story could have been told. In Theaters.
Man a vile concoction
In 1897, Oscar Metenier opened a small theater in Paris devoted to naturalist performances, plays or vignettes of a more realistic fashion dealing with those living on the margins of society. While unique in its approach, the organization’s director, Max Maurey, shifted its focus in an effort to turn a profit. The new order of the day was to alternate comedic skits and scenes with those of extreme horror. The theater, known as the Grand Guignol, became famous for its depictions of graphic, bloody violence. Renderings of decapitations, amputations, surgeries and instances of disfigurement were common, the reactions from the audience ranging from disgust to arousal. The establishment soon become a sensation, drawing crowds which sometimes included royalty, until the beginning of World War II, eventually closing its doors in 1962.
Eli Roth’s works would be right at home in the theater, his films a natural extension of the sensationalist fare seen there. Featuring simplistic stories and gratuitous violence, the director’s work is specialized for a unique audience, one that revels in witnessing acts of wanton cruelty and finds humor in the acts of sadism on display. His latest and most extreme work, Ice Cream Man, will please his legion of fans. Those with any sense of morality and taste will be horrified and rightfully so.
Using the Pied Piper legend as a starting point, the titular mobile vendor (Ari Millen) comes to a small California town, an agent of chaos who uses children as his minions. Handing out copious free samples, the minors who flock to get them are soon exhibiting strange behavior. Having turned into murderous zombies, they take to killing any adults who cross their paths. However, lactose intolerant Jared (Charlie Zeltzer), his sister Lizzie (Sarah Abbott) and a few others resist his sweet treats and try to escape.
Roth was once described by one of my colleagues as a triple threat – he can’t direct, he can’t write and he can’t act. All three of these deficiencies are on display here as the “auteur” casts himself as Jared and Lizzie’s father. The poster child for arrested development, this is a man suffering from perpetual adolescence.
Wallowing in gore, Roth takes great glee in creating scenes that show children sawing their mother’s head off with a hacksaw or beating their father to death with a baseball bat. Then there’s the inspired bit where a brother and sister kill their father by shoving a dental drill in his ear. Not to be outdone, another pair of siblings cut off their dad’s fingers while in a garbage disposal before setting him on fire. Unfortunately, the town’s teachers fare much worse, as one is beaten to death with bricks, while another has the top of his skull removed and brains taken out with an ice cream scoop.
I have no problem with violence in film if its purpose is to make a point regarding a character’s motivation, is used to comment on a particular social ill or serves as a metaphor. Roth has none of this in mind, his motivation to shock the initiated or meet the disturbing, low expectations of his fans. While I try to be conscious that what may be entertaining to others might not be my cup of tea, the disturbing nature of movies like this transcends that attempt at understanding. Man is a vile piece of work, catering to the most immature and callous among us. Roth is their pied piper, gleefully leading them from one grotesque scene to the next. You’d do well to keep your distance from any you see exiting the theater where this abomination is screening. In Theaters.
Mouth rather toothless
If sharks could perform as the one in Jeff Wadlow’s The Devil’s Mouth does, it could open up a whole new avenue for them in regard to rehabilitating their image. That’s not to say the eating machine on screen here is a more family-friendly predator. Far from it. The young twenty-somethings standing in as the respective smorgasbord are munched up in a variety of gruesome ways. But this finned killer is surprisingly mobile, navigating through tight passages, making whiplash turns and even soaring through the air. Were you to capture one of these and train it to do tricks, it would be a sensation.
Unfortunately, I cannot be that effusive about this surprisingly mundane thriller, one that wastes a great deal of potential as it opts for ridiculous action over character investment. Then again, as far as the bread-and-circuses crowd is concerned, they don’t watch to witness or experience any emotional engagement with the characters. They’re watching to see folks chomped up real good, which Wadlow delivers effectively within the movie’s PG-13 parameters.
The setting is Thailand and if this weren’t an animal-horror film, Mouth could be used by the country’s tourism board as Wadlow captures the environment in all its lush, tropical glory. Five post-college friends have gathered for one last hurrah before going off to start adulting. Greg and Adrienne (Gavin Casalegno and Tommi Rose) are in love, or it may just be lust, and have no problem rubbing their relationship in other’s faces. James (Nico Hiraga) has a good head on his shoulders but you wouldn’t think so if you were to base it solely on his choice of romantic partners. And while his partner Max (Lana Condor) is physically attractive, her sense of entitlement negates this every time she opens her mouth, makes a demand or employs a passive-aggressive tactic.
However, the one that acts as the glue for the group is Sara (Kathryn Newton). She has infinite patience, has a way of making rough situations smooth and thinks of others far more than she thinks of herself. Her intent is to revisit a site her late father favored, a cove known as the “Devil’s Mouth.” Part of a series of underwater caves, its unique structure makes it worth exploring.
However, something is amiss. Mighty storms have pushed a great many oceanic elements into this system that shouldn’t be there, a large shark with a great appetite being the one of greatest concern.
Screenwriters Aja Gabel and Myung Joh Wesner take their sweet time setting up the paper-thin dynamics between the characters. Our anticipation for the expected feeding frenzy is pushed past the breaking point, yet once the mayhem starts, it is consistently rendered. The shark is a CGI-creation so it can do things regular sharks can’t do. Lightning fast and able to leap several feet in the air, this thing is a wonder to behold. My favorite trick is when it jumps out of the water in effort to eat one of the many bats hanging from the cave ceiling.
Obviously, none of this is to be taken seriously and the fact that the caves are made of limestone and are easily destroyed by the rampaging monster adds to the fun. Yet, Mouth is that odd sort of movie that’s bad but not enough for it to be fun, ridiculous but not enough to inspire a drinking game. No, it commits the cardinal sin of being lazy and boring. With an acrobatic shark at your disposal, that’s quite a feat. Streaming on Amazon Prime.
This article appears in July 30 – August 5, 2026.
