One Night Only

For a film that requires suspending disbelief in such an outrageously unexplained premise, One Night Only doesn’t offer much incentive for moviegoer buy-in.

Oddly combining the oppressive political backdrop from the Purge movies with a quirky saga of two lost souls finding love, this comedy of carnal desire struggles to overcome a wobbly concept that is never given sufficient context to be believable or coherent.

It’s set in a horrifying near-future New York, where a fascist government policy restricts all sexual activity outside of marriage to a 12-hour period every year. Singles everywhere plan for the big evening and stock up on prophylactics, while embedded software on everyone’s wrists ensure compliance.

Pizzeria proprietor Owen (Callum Turner) looks forward to a night with his girlfriend (Maya Hawke), but she has other ideas, prompting him to roam the streets in a daze.

Cue an embarrassing meet-cute when he literally bumps into Allie (Monica Barbaro), a singer who specializes in advertising jingles in part because of her stage fright.

Their mild connection leads them to other potential partners, such as Owen’s attraction to a bartender (Julia Fox) or Allie’s falling for a fledgling rock musician (Charlie Gillespie).

Still, as they keep circling back to one another, eventually they realize how the night turns into a disaster whenever they’re apart.

As directed by genre stalwart Will Gluck (Anyone But You), the film tries to ignore the logistics and coast on the likability of its two working-class protagonists who come across as level-headed and sensible in a sea of impulsive, sex-crazed anarchists.

However, Owen and Allie don’t have much natural chemistry, and the predictable screenplay by newcomer Travis Braun requires them to bicker and bumble their way around the fact that they’re an obvious match under the circumstances — which moviegoers have known the whole time.

Some of the eccentricities are amusing, such as Allie’s pop jingles and the periphery characters who pop up at convenient intervals to throw a wrench in their plans.

Third-act contrivances and chronological manipulation leave little doubt as to where this is all headed. For our beleaguered couple, the question is not if they will wind up together but how.

Amid its zany energy and screwball mayhem, One Night Only is ruined before the sun rises, though, by a morally dubious premise that wants to be edgy but winds up as a real turn-off.

Rated R, 102 minutes.