The video offers a critical analysis of a mainstream film, connecting its plot and themes to broader societal issues and political commentary. This approach appeals to viewers interested in film criticism and social commentary, potentially driving engagement and shares.
Summary
The creator reviews the movie "One Night Only," a rom-com set in a dystopian America where premarital sex is outlawed except for one night a year. They highlight the film's critique of liberal apathy towards authoritarianism, noting how characters and societal elements show resistance through symbols and dialogue but ultimately submit to the system. The reviewer finds the film's self-aware silliness and its commentary on performative resistance to be the most interesting aspects.
Structure
1Introduces the movie and its premise.
2Critiques the film's commentary on dating and its comparison to 2000s rom-coms.
3Highlights the film's critique of liberal passivity and apathy towards authoritarian regimes.
4
Original caption
My sound kept cutting out at the end but hopefully the point still gets across #onenightonly #film #criticallens #performativeactivism
More from @criticallens
More breakout videos from this creator.
Discusses the film's self-aware silliness and its appeal to fans of simple rom-coms.
5Explains the background elements of resistance seen in trailers and the film.
6Notes the prevalence of 'repeal the mandate' messaging and its connection to activist signs.
7Observes the lack of actual action or revolution in the film's portrayal of resistance.
8Discusses the film's ending with a time skip and unchanged societal dynamics.
9Highlights the characters' vocal opposition but ultimate submission to the system.
10Shares a favorite scene involving an old man arrested for refusing to use protection.
11Connects the film's themes to authoritarian legislation and its aesthetic-based approach.
12Concludes that the film's portrayal of resistance, especially through the old man's dialogue, is the most interesting takeaway.
Product placement
The movie "One Night Only" is the subject of the video. The creator discusses its themes and plot points.
On-screen text
ONE NIGHT ONLY
IN THEATRES AUGUST 7
Transcript
I feel very strongly that the best part of this movie has nothing to do with its main commentary on dating or casual sex or purity culture, or the fact that it's a spiritual successor to really stupid ROM coms from the 2000's. No, for me personally, the best part of this movie is its incredibly scathing critique of liberal passivity and apathy towards authoritarian regimes. I just can't tell if it's intentional or not, but we're gonna talk about it anyway. I got to see an early access screening of One Night Only as part of a mystery screening, and it's exactly what it looks like from the trailers. It's a very dumb ROM com about these people in this version of America where premarital sex has been outlawed, except for the night or the one night where it is legal. And, you know, high jinx ensue as both of these people rush to try and find someone to sleep with. I'm not gonna talk too much about the quality of the movie itself, that's not really my bag. But I will say that the film is very tongue and cheek about how silly the premise is. It's very self aware, and if you like really silly, simple ROM coms, you probably will like this. The thing, however, that I was most looking forward to when I realized that's what we were seeing was the fact that from the trailers, there seems to be something bigger going on in the background. There's a lot of stuff in the trailers. Signs about repealing the mandate, enforce the mandate, fuck the mandate. So I was really curious to see if there was something more deep going on in the background when it came to this idea of sex is illegal except for this one night. And that stuff definitely is in there. You have a lot of companies embracing this authoritarian push. Not only just lubricant and other sex companies advertising stuff for the one night, but even companies like Dunkin Donuts advertising their stuff for the one night, which is very strange but feels very apt. Not to mention, on streets and sidewalks, you have all these graffiti art and posters and all these different things talking about fuck the mandate, you know, repeal the mandate. And in a lot of homes we see the same exact repeal sign. That is very reminiscent of a lot of these activist signs about, uh, resist that you'll see in people's homes these days. But when it comes to doing something about it. There's kind of nothing. Nothing happens. There's no protests, no, uh, civil disobedience, no revolution, no fighting. It's just people saying, fuck the mandate. And then when one night comes rushing around as fast as possible to find someone to have sex. This film feels incredibly apathetic towards the totalitarianism it is demonstrating. Right. You have multiple countries, news outlets criticizing America. You have every single person in this movie being against the Mandate. And yet they still go along with it. And as a warning of a spoiler, though, it's not really much of a spoiler. It's a ROM com. Of course they get together. The movie basically ends with a time skip to one year later, and absolutely nothing has changed except for the main two characters are now together. Characters who are very vocal, very loud about all of it. But in the end, they don't do anything. They just submit to the system. Like I said at the beginning of this video, I'm not sure how much of this is intentional critique of this sort of apathetic resistance or performative resistance versus how much of it is it's a romcom. They're trying to do the purge, but a romcom. So they're showing symbols and these visuals of resistance while still not going too much into it. Cause, you know, it's a romcom or not. It is the most interesting thing I took away from this movie. And to conclude, I want to share my favorite bit from this movie. Uh, which is a spoiler, but it's barely a spoiler. Uh, there's a scene in a police station where an old man is getting arrested, uh, and he says, I don't care how many times you lock me up, I refuse to have sex with a condom. Because essentially, uh, part of the one night is they're allowed to have sex with other people, but they have to wear Protection. And I think this speaks so amazingly both to how authoritarian legislation, because it is aesthetic based, doesn't consider fringe groups. Right. They want to ban premarital sex, but they don't consider senior citizens. But also with the whole Protection thing, it's important to remember a lot of seniors are shooting blanks and also really like to fuck. And I think there is no better sign of resistance than an old man basically just going, what am I gonna do? Lock me up, keep locking me up. I'm gonna keep doing it.
