Sex is legal just once a year in surprisingly lame rom-com One Night Only

Running time: 102 minutes.Rated R (sexual material, language, and brief nudity).

In theaters Aug.7.A version of “The Purge” in which U.S.

singles can only legally have sex for one day a year is a good pitch.A great pitch.Too bad the set-up is also the funniest part of “One Night Only,” starring Callum Turner and Monica Barbaro.There’s a hearty laugh in the first few seconds when a straight-faced explainer pops up onscreen to upbeat rom-com music in front of the New York skyline.“Three years ago, premarital sex was outlawed in the United States except for one night a year,” it abruptly says.Ha.The movie, at that point, appears to be a strange and clever mashup of “Friends With Benefits” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Yet the giggles and ingenuity taper off.

And by the end, we’ve watched something closer to “Date Night” with Tina Fey and Steve Carell — a “nothing good happens after midnight” trip with multiple underwhelming stops en route to a predictable, lovey-dovey ending. Over a rowdy 12 hours, Owen (Turner) and Allie (Barbaro) find themselves in increasingly silly situations in a frenzy to get laid.We’ve seen better versions of this story many, many times.But director Will Gluck’s movie adds a barely discernible dusting of sci-fi dystopia, and so the skeptical audience silently asks follow-up question after follow-up question about the preposterous circumstances. Congress apparently passed this law to promote traditional marriage (spouses can still get it on 24/7, 365).

And as a result, every American has had an implant inserted into their arm that alerts law enforcement of rising dopamine levels that suggest they’re getting it on.Crazy “The Purge,” about a 24-hour stretch of legalized crime, somehow comes off more realistic than “One Night Only.”  So you’re telling me it took us in the real world 20 years to fully enact the REAL ID act, but in this movie 350 million people got forced bioelectronic surgery i...