Some of the crew have been living their best life, treating themselves to some Disney magic out west. The other half of the crew has been watching them live their best lives while being tortured by the obnoxious heat of Colorado and recuperating from the South Carolinian humidity and bug bites.
How’s everyone else's summers wrapping up? lol
Here’s what we have for you today:
Concession Stand Scorecard: One Night Only
New Pod Drop: Chatting it up with Employees and Strangers at The Odyssey
This week’s movie - One Night Only
Letterboxd Description:
12 hours can change everything.
Two love-starved strangers crash into each other on the one night of the year when single people are allowed to have sex.
Best Watched With
A hopeless romantic friend and someone who doesn’t take themselves (complimentary)
End Credit Thoughts
What a wild premise. The United States decided that there needs to be a Chastity Belt Mandate — no premarital sex, sorry singles, you are ruining sex for the espoused — for 364 days of the year to restore traditional values. It’s like The Purge, but instead of murdering their neighbors, people have 12 hours to slay them sexually. How would a society even enforce this?? Great question. We asked it too. Biotech. They figured out a way to alert authorities if any singles engage in any sort of intercourse. And plopped right in the middle of this sexless for the unwed life, we have a rom-com between Owen (Callum Turner) and Allie (Monica Barbaro).
Even if the story is a bit unbelievable, and this will not enter the hall of fame of New York City Romance movies, we love a love movie set in The Big Apple. NYC is always more than a setting. It is a character. The city itself lives; it breathes, it speaks, and it interacts with every aspect of the movie. The cool, hip, and too-small-to-live-in apartments, the public transportation, the pizza shop on every corner — everything speaks to the dreams chased and caught. One Night Only is no different.
The little details are a lot of fun. The graffiti, building signs, and the notorious NYC ads found everywhere are commentary on this countrywide mandate. They are as ridiculous as funny. The movie does not take itself seriously, and this attitude serves it well. We don’t think it would work if it did.
Even considering how politicians could get enough people to vote for this policy, let alone enforce it, the most unbelievable thing about this movie is the fact that Callum Turner and Monica Barbaro would be single in a world like this. Turner may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but in a country of 300+ million people, we’re sure there’s a cool 275 million who do. Men included. And we refuse to believe that not every single person is not in love with Barabaro. She starred in A Complete Unknown as a singer-songwriter Joan Baez, and they took full advantage of her vocal gifts. Well performed by the pair, and the chemistry is believable enough that we were all rooting for love — with or without sex — by the end of it.
The soundtrack is what we expected from a modern rom-com. Popular pop songs that are predictable but fun because we know the words and rhythm to them. Nothing too surprising here, but they do implement some fun parodies as part of the plot that gave us a chuckle.
It’s absurd, it’s silly, it’s messy, it’s corny at times, but isn’t love often all those things anyway? We had a good time sitting in auditorium 6, and so did the others, laughing out loud on opening day. This isn’t a movie to sprint to and dump $100 on. Maybe a matinee, but we think those who love this genre of movies will have a good time watching this one from the comfort of their home.
Wait till streaming.
Josh Jump Scare Count: 0 (he did gag though… watch and you’ll know the scene)
Want to know more about our individual ratings of movies?
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@justjoshperez
@ericharrison
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The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan, & 2026 movies: Talking w/ People at the Theaters #76
🎧 Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
The Sweet & Condensed crew—Josh, Eric, and Kelly—take the podcast on the road for a special on-location episode at the AMC Theater in Denver. They hit the lobby before and after a 70mm screening of Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated film, The Odyssey.
Listen in as they chat with fellow moviegoers and AMC employees about their favorite theater experiences of the year, their expectations for Nolan’s latest, and the age-old debate of 70mm versus IMAX. Plus, the hosts break down their own spoiler-free reactions to The Odyssey, from Travis Scott’s surprise appearance to Tom Holland’s performance.
Timestamps
00:00 – Intro
01:34 – Pre-Show Interviews
09:34 – Format Debate
10:58 – More Pre-Show Interviews
18:45 – Post-Show Intro: A quick audio disclaimer as the crew transitions to post-movie reactions.
20:02 – Post-Show Interviews
28:24 – Outro: Podcast wrap-up and where to find the Sweet & Condensed newsletter.
Tune in next week for | End of Oak Street
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