It’s the film about the one night a year when single people can legally have sex with each other. An insane premise that I think a lot of the internet has decided to write off on that alone, but what we have is a surprisingly sweet rom-com mixed with a Purge-esque dystopia.

The film centres on Owen (Callum Turner) and Allie (Monica Barbaro), who repeatedly bump into each other throughout the night as they search for love or lust in New York. With each encounter, their attraction grows, and Turner and Barbaro showcase believable chemistry that carries the film.

It’s no surprise the romance and comedy come together well enough; there are incredibly safe hands in director Will Gluck, who has a pedigree for the genre, being behind the camera for standouts like Easy A, Friends with Benefits, and the smash hit Anyone but You.

Gluck has a very special kind of silliness, tongue-in-cheek style to his romcoms that makes them a great mix of believable and silly. Although you can’t help but feel that One Night Only doesn’t go far enough with the satire and the silliness. It feels like it’s calling out for a harsher take, but it steers well clear. After seeing David Wain’s Gail Daughtrey and the Celebrity Sex Pass earlier in the day, it made me feel as though the premise could maybe turn the dial closer to it in terms of the comedy tone.

The narrative sits in the shadow of a fascist government in power in the USA, and while there is some direct illusion to it, it could go further with the critique and comedy surrounding it. It could also answer some of the more nuanced questions surrounding the enforcement and loopholes. During lulls in the story, I found myself thinking about the logistics surrounding tourism, travel abroad and cheating.

Overall, the film was a bit of a surprise. On paper, it is easy to write off with its insane premise, but when you get there, you’ll see the humour from Gluck’s direction and Travis Braun’s script and the great chemistry from Turner and Barbaro. It’s a great date-night film if you’re in need of one, and I hate to say it, one that will light the SVOD services on fire when it drops there at the end of the year, even if the satire could hit harder.