Palm Springs is one of my favourite rom-coms in ages
This movie is a delight
★★★★★
Stuck in a time loop, two wedding guests develop a budding romance while living the same day over and over again. (IMDb)
Trust me, you should go into Palm Springs knowing as little as possible. I’d almost suggest you fire up Amazon Prime right now and watch it before reading the rest of this review, even if I won’t reveal anything beyond the premise. There are a whole bunch of spoilers out there, and my advice is to avoid them as much as possible. While I’m keeping this review short, though, rest assured that I still give this movie a wholehearted recommendation.
What’s it about?
As you’ve probably gathered from even the brief plot description on Prime or the trailer, this is a time-loop comedy much like Groundhog Day or the Netflix hit series Russian Doll. Set at a wedding in the titular Palm Springs, it follows wedding guest Nyles (Andy Samberg), who meets Sarah (Cristin Milioti), the maid of honour at the event and the sister of the bride. Both of the lead characters are reluctant wedding guests and, somehow, they both end up in a situation where they’re repeating this one day over and over, seemingly forever, unable to move forward in their lives. Revealing the time-loop concept isn’t the biggest spoiler as it’s both in the trailer and quickly unveiled within the first few minutes of the film, but there’s loads more to this little rom-com and, as mentioned, I’d suggest just watching it and experiencing it without knowing too much beforehand.
“Today, tomorrow, yesterday, it’s all the same.” — Nyles
Stuck in a time loop
Best known from their sitcom roles on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and How I Met Your Mother, Samberg and Milioti are completely comfortable with the comedic energy of the film and there’s an evident mix of easygoing improvisation and well-written jokes from director Max Barbakow and screenwriter Andy Siara. Palm Springs is a really funny rom-com, and the pair have wonderful chemistry throughout. And, one thing that sets this apart from other riffs on the Groundhog Day idea is that it has these two characters stuck together in the loop. Usually it’s just one person stuck alone and trying to figure out what’s happened, but with two people there are so many possibilities for what could happen, and the film constantly takes advantage of the potential for wild shenanigans and imaginative humour.
It’s smart and inventive
Far from a mindless comedy, Palm Springs has a lot on its mind and doesn’t skimp on character development and proper emotional moments. When it comes to themes, it’s interested in what brings life meaning and why it’s worth living. If every day is going to be exactly the same, what is it that makes life special? Nyles begins the film believing nothing matters while Sarah seems to agree but also feels like there must be an explanation or a purpose to what they’re going through. In general, it’s worth saying that this is a film that’s well aware of other time-loop stories and one that understands the audience will be familiar with them too, meaning it can find ways to be creative with the typical structure, the way the loop works, and how the characters react to their predicament.
Where to watch
Palm Springs is streaming on Amazon Prime Video now.
Stray thoughts
- We need more 90-minute comedies… in fact, just more 90-minute movies in general — this is a great length for this story and you’ll have a lot of fun with it, without ever feeling like it overstays its welcome
- It’s produced by Samberg and his Lonely Island comedy trio, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, and unsurprisingly has its fair share of outrageous moments and silly comedy; it’s not quite Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, but the gags get pretty crazy here
- Without spoiling anything, it’s worth saying that this has a conclusive ending but also leaves things open-ended enough that there’s some slight potential for a sequel — it doesn’t need one, but I’d be intrigued if they decide to do one
Need to know
Running time: One hour and 30 minutes
Director: Max Barbakow
Writers: Andy Siara, Max Barbakow
Stars: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, Peter Gallagher, JK Simmons
Verdict
It’s a masterpiece of a rom-com with brilliant chemistry between the two lead actors and a wonderful premise.
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