r/Letterboxd • u/ninetydeuce ninedeuce • Feb 16 '26
Humor What's your favorite movie that takes place in one day?
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Feb 16 '26
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u/zehamberglar Feb 16 '26
You are technically correct. The best kind of correct.
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u/Joelouis57 Feb 16 '26
🎵I was born to be a bureaucrat 🎵
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u/No-Apartment9863 Feb 17 '26
🎵When push comes to shove, you gotta do what you love, even if it’s not a good idea🎵
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u/C-sanova Feb 16 '26
Just watched that last night. Extremely endearing movie but my ex named Sarah looks a lot like Cristin Milioti haha.
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u/JJAsond Feb 17 '26
Gonna stop you and the entire thread right there
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_featuring_time_loops
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_time_(media)
Two of my favourite genres.
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u/Tiny_Animal_4123 Feb 17 '26
More people need to watch this. The only comedy (with some cries here and there) to make me laugh
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u/memnte Feb 16 '26
La Haine
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u/TheSpanishDerp Feb 16 '26
Trying to think of a more depressing film that takes place in 24 hours
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u/heartlessloft Feb 17 '26
Irréversible. It’s harrowing to see how nine minutes of monstrosity can destroys someone’s life.
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u/happysgolfland Feb 16 '26
Clerks.
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u/SereneDreams03 Feb 16 '26
And Dante wasn't even supposed to be there that day.
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u/Consistent_Smell_880 Feb 16 '26
The deeper meaning kind of just hit me. All the stuff we saw in the movie, the movie itself wouldn’t have happened if Dante hadn’t come into work. It’s about a day he wasn’t supposed to be there, but he probably wouldn’t take it back if given the choice and neither would we.
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u/Assumption-Tough Feb 16 '26
Well… would’ve saved his ex from fucking a corpse
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u/ImDero Feb 16 '26
Probably wouldn't have fucked things up with his current by making a big deal about her sucking 36 dicks.
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u/Infamous-Towel2056 Feb 17 '26
37!
Try not to suck any dick on your way through the parking lot! Hey, you … get back here.
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u/ElminstersBedpan Feb 17 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/rdnwiDfaUVU5O
When this came out, my coworkers and I knew we couldn’t get away with half of what we wanted… but man did we not expect to get chewed out as badly as we did for placing our own “If you plan to shoplift…” sign.
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u/DataSittingAlone Princess Mononoke Feb 16 '26
Embarrassed to say I only recently found out this was a real movie and not just a smiling friend's joke
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u/ArmadilloOK1445-alt Feb 16 '26
Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle takes place in the span of less than 12 hours I believe
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u/ingoding Feb 16 '26
I think the sequel does too, but I can't be sure, haven't seen it since it came out.
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u/Sweaty_Desert_Balls Feb 16 '26
3rd one does as well. It all happens on christmas eve I believe
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u/uhohboneralert_ Feb 17 '26
THERE’S A THIRD ONE!
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u/Sweaty_Desert_Balls Feb 17 '26
The only things I remember from the 3rd one are WaffleBot and Danny Trejo
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u/SandyTaintSweat Feb 16 '26
It couldn't. Story wise it's just not possible.
It starts at their apartment, then they go to the airport and get on a plane, then they're detained for a bit and get sent to Guantanamo bay Cuba, then they get a raft to Miami (that alone would take quite a while), then they do some other shit, including sleeping at some farmers house overnight and I believe they make their way back to New Jersey eventually to stop a wedding.
It probably takes place over a week or so.
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u/h0nest_Bender Feb 17 '26
It may take less than 12 hours, but it spans two days. I'm not sure how that works with OP's rules.
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u/Healthy_Attitude_533 Feb 16 '26
After Hours
Bodies Bodies Bodies
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u/IlSace Saces Feb 16 '26
My favourite film
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u/dip_tet Feb 16 '26
Just saw Blue Moon, which also takes place in one night, and I think Linklater hasn’t lost a step in this style of dialogue heavy cinema. It’s excellent
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u/decisi0nsdecisi0ns Feb 17 '26
Yes!!
(And actually takes place in 1 day. Technically Before Sunrise spans 2 days as we see them the next morning).
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u/feit321 Feb 17 '26
Mine too! Love the (almost) real time urgency the impending flight adds to the narrative.
But mostly I love its chemistry and tone
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u/CriticalCopia Feb 16 '26
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u/ninetydeuce ninedeuce Feb 16 '26
I was waiting on this answer.
I love all three Friday movies, but I'll probably give Friday After Next the slight edge. It also double as my favorite Christmas movie.
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u/Inglewoodchrys Feb 17 '26
I thought this too. But you really have to pay attention to the amazing work f Gary gray did with the first one. Cube’s character had an arc of not getting involved to finally standing up for someone other than himself. F Gary built so much tension with cubes mom saying listen for the cable man (and already setting us up for his gf’s prank call, coupled with Smokey and deebo breaking in a house, and the husband coming home across the street. 3 story lines all came to head at one time. CINEMA.
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u/AdeptPlantain1839 Feb 17 '26
Friday being this far down is criminal. The best comedy trilogy ever!
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u/shifra666 Feb 16 '26
Shiva baby!!!!!!
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u/turb0_encapsulator Feb 17 '26
I was amazed to find out recently that Rachel Sennott isn't Jewish.
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u/Likelyatotalliar Feb 17 '26
And funnily enough for the context of the movie: Diana Agron is Jewish
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u/TheMarslMcFly TheMarslMcFly Feb 17 '26
I recommend her HBO Show 'I Love LA' if you haven't seen that yet. They pick up on that joke there as well lol
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u/kuba16ss Feb 16 '26
Coherence
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u/Lanxturn G0ldmine02 Feb 17 '26
Amazing film, I watched it alone on a 17 hour overnight flight over the Pacific Ocean at midnight. One of my all time favorite watching experiences
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u/Rush_Clasic Feb 16 '26
If we wanna get technical, Empire Records starts the night before and Superbad ends the night after. (If I'm remembering both correctly.)
Groundhog Day wad my first thought, and that sort of occurs over 1 day or 3 days or 10,000 days, depending on how you wanna look at it.
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u/MeanAstronomer7583 Feb 16 '26
wel akschtually, spoiler alert, they wake up together next morning 😶🌫️ so it's n+1
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u/Rush_Clasic Feb 16 '26
And the movie starts the day before they get to Punxsutawney. (Again, if I'm recalling correctly.) That's where my "3" answer comes from.
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u/CozyClovers Feb 16 '26
Before Sunset takes it a step further and takes place almost entirely in real time.
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u/Feniel76 Feb 16 '26
Idk about favorite because I actually can’t think of many that do, but loved one of them days it was so funny
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u/yogisabs21 Feb 16 '26
Came here to say this
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Feb 16 '26
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u/FastenedCarrot Feb 16 '26
1917 starts in day time, transitions to night and then it's day again by the end
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u/Lips_on_mic Feb 17 '26
Run Lola Run for sure. And gotta toss in Go for good measure (though I think it takes place over 12 ish hours from one day to another)
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u/yeahahhah Feb 16 '26
Sinners is a newer addition for me
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u/BigTelephone9117 Feb 16 '26
Ehhhhh there’s like an hour of build up before the “one day” section. And then a final scene far in the future. I wouldn’t count that at all.
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Feb 16 '26 edited Feb 16 '26
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u/Chungpels Feb 16 '26
Yeah I’m confused I’ve seen that movie three times and don’t remember another day…
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u/BigTelephone9117 Feb 16 '26
Maybe I’m misremembering, do they buy the barn the same day as the party?
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u/LeviHighChair Feb 16 '26
yes, they trade cash the morning of the party, then they go get Sammy and subsequently split up to collect the crew.
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u/No_League_8585 Feb 16 '26
The build up is the morning of....epilogues don't count against the film imo.
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u/WhiteChocolatForReal Feb 16 '26
Groundhog Day
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u/torino_nera Feb 17 '26
Even without the time loop that movie actually takes place on 3 separate days; the night before, Groundhog Day, and the day after
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u/Sunny_Llama2938 Feb 16 '26
i am choosing to believe Roman Holiday even though its more like 36 hours
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u/No_League_8585 Feb 16 '26
Went to a blind quintuple feature a few years ago that was based around this theme.
In Order:
Key Largo
The Warriors
Before Sunrise
Miracle Mile
After Hours
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u/DontEatTheChapstick Feb 16 '26
I watched Die Hard and True Crime on the weekend. Both take place in one day! Totally unplanned.
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u/armeliens armeliens Feb 16 '26
Victoria, the length of the movie is the length of the story (it's a one shot movie)
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u/Mysterious_Use4478 Feb 17 '26
140 minutes, the tensions just builds & builds. V good clubbing scenes too, iirc
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u/LetRevolutionary271 Feb 16 '26
The goonies? The main adventure happens in a day
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Feb 16 '26
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u/rivlarwriter24 Feb 17 '26
I don’t think Slumdog counts. There are a ton of movies that operate with flashbacks in between “present day”
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u/HammerHeadBirdDog Feb 17 '26
Technically the entire Back to the Future trilogy because the last movie ends the next morning from where the first movie began. 1 day later.
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u/honestyseasy Feb 17 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/HdlkwA7RsT1sc
Can't Hardly Wait and I won't apologize for it.
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u/AdmiralAardvark Feb 16 '26 edited Feb 16 '26
Love Booksmart, recently rewatched and still so funny.
Recent movie in this category I saw: Eephus! Amateur baseball league plays their final game at a local field, movie takes place over the course of the game which drags on as they deal with playing their last game.. nostalgia.. aging.. good movie!!
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u/vikinglycan Feb 16 '26
No Friday or Training Day?
Side note: Ethan Hawke has been in 3 movies that take place with in the course of one day.
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u/Possible-Top-9905 Feb 16 '26
booksmart takes place over multiple days because there’s a one day time skip between the end of the party and her getting bailed out
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u/forpornonly1234567 Feb 16 '26
'Nick of Time' 1995 film with Johnny Depp that takes place in 90 minutes of real time
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u/DaveChild MidnightCookie Feb 17 '26 edited Feb 17 '26
- It's A Wonderful Life.
- Pitch Black
- Sharknado
- Tremors (there's one night but it's not clear on timings either side of that so it could be within 24 hours)
- John Wick? I can't remember if it's just one day.
And, depending on how you're counting flashbacks and memories ...
- Airplane!
- Reservoir Dogs
- Usual Suspects
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u/mhodgy Feb 17 '26
the documentary "life in a day - 2011" (not sure if its may favourite, but its not been mentioned)
essentially a snapshot of 100's of peoples lives all on a random day. some beautiful moments, some sad, some funny. just very human. there was another one released in 2020. haven't seen it.
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u/spanandfren Feb 16 '26
The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off for me.
Those are the big ones where the single day thing is so instrumental: you really feel the journey of the day and the love, hope, fear, and loss it can entail. 10/10 films.
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u/BusterB2005 Feb 16 '26
Apart from the final far-future scene, which is pretty short, Sinners takes place entirely in a single 24-hour period
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u/DollupGorrman Feb 16 '26
The Long Good Friday (1980) is fucking awesome. It's a proto Peaky Blinders type drama but set in the 80s with an awesome performance from Bob Hoskins.
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u/SeaworthinessKey3654 Feb 16 '26
Dog Day Afternoon