by Josh Sewell
One Night Only
(Rated R for sexual material, language and brief nudity. Opens in theaters on August 7.)
The premise: Sparks fly between hopeful romantic Allie (Monica Barbaro) and recently dumped Owen (Callum Turner) in an alternate universe where single people are only allowed to have sex one night each year.
The verdict: One Night Only is a solid romantic comedy with a frustrating, convoluted premise. I realize the only way a romcom avoids streaming purgatory these days is with a high-concept idea. However, when said plot boils down to “The Purge, but with relationships,” it causes viewers to think about feasibility and enforcement rather than if these crazy kids are ever gonna fall in love.
Barbaro and Turner are both endearing and have great chemistry. But instead of just letting the potential couple be cute and funny together, director Will Gluck and screenwriter Travis Braun keep bringing up aspects of the silly law that distract viewers from the budding romance.
One Night Only also has a fun supporting cast that goes all in on the chaos. Maya Hawke, Julia Fox, Ben Marshall, Michelle Hurd, Mike Birbiglia and Okieriete Onaodowan all earn their share of laughs; but it’s Molly Ringwald and Levar Burton who steal their scenes by playing characters that will cause older viewers to see them in a new light.
Finally, the soundtrack is fun too. I can’t get into specifics without spoiling some punchlines, but Allie’s job has her singing familiar tunes in creative ways.
Grade: B-
Ice Cream Man
(Not rated but contains gore, language and thematic elements. Opens in theaters on August 7.)
The premise: An idyllic summer town becomes a slaughterhouse after a demonic ice cream man (Ari Millen) turns kids into murderous zombies.
The verdict: Eli Roth has earned his reputation as a hit-or-miss horror director. For every win (Hostel, Thanksgiving), he has just as many strikeouts (The Green Inferno, Knock Knock). Chalk Ice Cream Man up as a major error. On paper, the premise sounds fun – a horror comedy where adorable kids go crazy and murder their parents. Weapons was a massive hit, so why not?
Turns out the screenplay (written by Roth and Noah Belson) doesn’t care about actual characters or a compelling plot. The premise is just an excuse to stitch together a bunch of gross-out sequences that don’t make an impact. It’s dishonest to classify “Ice Cream Man” as a horror comedy when there are zero scares or laughs.
While some of the practical effects are solid, the semi-realistic gore isn’t enough to counteract the terrible story, awful performances and infuriating use of AI. It looks like ChatGPT threw up all over the screen.
My daughter caught the last few minutes of Ice Cream Man and remarked that she recently used some of the same Canva artwork for a class presentation. She’s in high school, if that tells you anything about the level of artistry Roth is striving for here.
Grade: F
Ted Lasso – Season Four
(Rated TV-MA for language, adult content and thematic elements. New episodes available weekly on Apple TV+.)
The premise: In this highly anticipated new season, Ted (Jason Sudeikis) returns to Richmond to coach the women’s football team. Throughout 10 episodes, Ted, his fellow coaches and the team learn to leap before they look, taking chances they never anticipated.
The verdict: Viewers were mixed on the third season of Ted Lasso due to some episodes that were too long and dramatically uneven. Still, the finale left most of the characters in a good place, so rolling the dice on more seasons was a risky proposition.
I’ve seen the first four episodes of the new season, and despite a bumpy start – the premiere is stuffed with table-setting that made me nervous – Ted Lasso has found its footing again. I’m not sure if the series needed to continue, but Sudeikis and crew have found an engaging way to keep it going.
It’s great to see familiar faces like Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt and Jeremy Swift, though the focus on women’s athletics means actors like Phil Dunster, Toheeb Jimoh, Cristo Fernández and Nick Mohamed are sorely missed. Still, new characters played by Tanya Reynolds, Jude Mack, Faye Marsay and Abbie Hern suggest there are still plenty of intriguing stories to tell from new perspectives.
Grade: B
(Rated R for sexual material, language and brief nudity. Opens in theaters on August 7.)
The premise: Sparks fly between hopeful romantic Allie (Monica Barbaro) and recently dumped Owen (Callum Turner) in an alternate universe where single people are only allowed to have sex one night each year.
The verdict: One Night Only is a solid romantic comedy with a frustrating, convoluted premise. I realize the only way a romcom avoids streaming purgatory these days is with a high-concept idea. However, when said plot boils down to “The Purge, but with relationships,” it causes viewers to think about feasibility and enforcement rather than if these crazy kids are ever gonna fall in love.
Barbaro and Turner are both endearing and have great chemistry. But instead of just letting the potential couple be cute and funny together, director Will Gluck and screenwriter Travis Braun keep bringing up aspects of the silly law that distract viewers from the budding romance.
One Night Only also has a fun supporting cast that goes all in on the chaos. Maya Hawke, Julia Fox, Ben Marshall, Michelle Hurd, Mike Birbiglia and Okieriete Onaodowan all earn their share of laughs; but it’s Molly Ringwald and Levar Burton who steal their scenes by playing characters that will cause older viewers to see them in a new light.
Finally, the soundtrack is fun too. I can’t get into specifics without spoiling some punchlines, but Allie’s job has her singing familiar tunes in creative ways.
Grade: B-
(Not rated but contains gore, language and thematic elements. Opens in theaters on August 7.)
The premise: An idyllic summer town becomes a slaughterhouse after a demonic ice cream man (Ari Millen) turns kids into murderous zombies.
The verdict: Eli Roth has earned his reputation as a hit-or-miss horror director. For every win (Hostel, Thanksgiving), he has just as many strikeouts (The Green Inferno, Knock Knock). Chalk Ice Cream Man up as a major error. On paper, the premise sounds fun – a horror comedy where adorable kids go crazy and murder their parents. Weapons was a massive hit, so why not?
Turns out the screenplay (written by Roth and Noah Belson) doesn’t care about actual characters or a compelling plot. The premise is just an excuse to stitch together a bunch of gross-out sequences that don’t make an impact. It’s dishonest to classify “Ice Cream Man” as a horror comedy when there are zero scares or laughs.
While some of the practical effects are solid, the semi-realistic gore isn’t enough to counteract the terrible story, awful performances and infuriating use of AI. It looks like ChatGPT threw up all over the screen.
My daughter caught the last few minutes of Ice Cream Man and remarked that she recently used some of the same Canva artwork for a class presentation. She’s in high school, if that tells you anything about the level of artistry Roth is striving for here.
Grade: F
(Rated TV-MA for language, adult content and thematic elements. New episodes available weekly on Apple TV+.)
The premise: In this highly anticipated new season, Ted (Jason Sudeikis) returns to Richmond to coach the women’s football team. Throughout 10 episodes, Ted, his fellow coaches and the team learn to leap before they look, taking chances they never anticipated.
The verdict: Viewers were mixed on the third season of Ted Lasso due to some episodes that were too long and dramatically uneven. Still, the finale left most of the characters in a good place, so rolling the dice on more seasons was a risky proposition.
I’ve seen the first four episodes of the new season, and despite a bumpy start – the premiere is stuffed with table-setting that made me nervous – Ted Lasso has found its footing again. I’m not sure if the series needed to continue, but Sudeikis and crew have found an engaging way to keep it going.
It’s great to see familiar faces like Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt and Jeremy Swift, though the focus on women’s athletics means actors like Phil Dunster, Toheeb Jimoh, Cristo Fernández and Nick Mohamed are sorely missed. Still, new characters played by Tanya Reynolds, Jude Mack, Faye Marsay and Abbie Hern suggest there are still plenty of intriguing stories to tell from new perspectives.
Grade: B
Reach out to Josh Sewell at joshsewell81@gmail.com or on BlueSky @joshsewell.bsky.social
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