Palm Springs

This sweet (if R-rated) time-loop rom-com combines comedy and emotion in a way that deserves to be talked about in the same conversation as the grand-daddy of all time-loop rom-coms, Groundhog Day. And there really isn’t a better compliment for a time-loop rom-com than that.

Premise: Nyles (Andy Samberg), the boyfriend of one of the bridesmaids, finds himself trapped reliving the same wedding day at a Palm Springs resort over and over again. But when the maid-of-honour Sarah (Cristin Milioti) also becomes trapped in the time-loop, the two strangers both approach the situation very differently.

Review:

It’s fair to say that the 1993 film Groundhog Day casts a long shadow – so much so that (like Die Hard) it’s become a shorthand way of referring to an entire genre (as in “Happy Death Day is like Groundhog Day done as a slasher horror/comedy”). But in the last 30-odd years, there have only been a handful of memorable time-loop films (such as Happy Death Day and Edge of Tomorrow), and none of them have attempted to stray into Groundhog Day’s rom-com territory. Until now.

The fact that Palm Springs wasn’t originally envisioned as either a time-loop film or a rom-com probably explains why it works so well, because the concept and ideas developed organically, rather than having someone deliberately set out to make “their version” of a Groundhog Day-style film. And let’s also be fair – Palm Springs is really only similar to Groundhog Day on a superficial level (they are both rom-coms that involve time-loops, and they are both great films), but in every other respect, Palm Springs is very much its own thing.

“…Andy Samberg & Cristin Milioti put in arguably the best performances of their careers…”

For one thing, Palm Springs is R-rated, compared to Groundhog Day’s decidedly PG tone. But it’s not R-rated in a “raunchy, sex comedy” kind of way, it’s just that the language is believably foul-mouthed and the sexual content matches the adult tone of the film. But perhaps more important than the rating is the way in which the concept of the time-loop is explored – in Groundhog Day, the audience followed Phil Connors (Bill Murray) from before he got stuck in the time-loop, whereas in Palm Springs, we first meet Nyles (Andy Samberg) after he’s already been stuck in the time-loop for quite some time. Instead, the audience is introduced to the concept of the time-loop through the eyes of Sarah (Cristin Milioti), who initially doesn’t understand what is happening when she finds herself reliving her sister’s wedding day for a second time.

During the course of the film, the audience’s point of view switches between Nyles’ and Sarah’s several times. There is no question that this is a two-hander film, and Sarah is just as much the film’s co-lead as Nyles is. This further differentiates Palm Springs from Groundhog Day, where Andie MacDowell’s Rita Hanson was a very vaguely developed character, who was primarily an object for Phil Connors’ affections rather than a fully rounded co-lead in her own right.

“…Andy Samberg brings a surprising amount of emotional depth to Nyles…”

Given the concept of the film, it’s not surprising that Andy Samberg and/or Cristin Milioti are in every scene, and they effectively have to carry the entire movie on their shoulders. Thankfully, they both put in arguably the best performances of their careers in Palm Springs. I’ve been a long-time fan of Andy Samberg (and maintain that Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is the best comedy of the 2010s), but many of his other characters have been heightened comedy caricatures (albeit hilarious ones), whereas in Palm Springs, he brings a surprising amount of emotional depth to Nyles, as well as the comedic moments you might be expecting. Cristin Milioti, on the other hand, is perhaps best known to date for playing Leonardo DiCaprio’s first wife in The Wolf of Wall Street and “the Mother” in the final season of How I Met Your Mother, but this role really showcases what she’s capable of, and will hopefully lead to bigger opportunities in the future.

Without straying into spoiler territory, I can also say that having Nyles and Sarah as co-leads allows the film to explore the time-loop from two very different perspectives. Nyles has been stuck in the time-loop for a while already when we first meet him, and so is struggling to find meaning in a world without lasting consequences. Sarah, meanwhile, is still progressing through the stages of accepting her situation (denial, anger, bargaining etc), even though Nyles assures her that he’s already tried everything to break the loop.

“…there’s a surprising amount of emotion & depth behind the comedy…”

Despite being a very funny comedy, Palm Springs also tackles some interesting philosophical questions about the meaning of life, including the nature of love, guilt, vengeance, and happiness. There are plot developments I can’t get into here, but there’s a surprising amount of emotion and depth behind the comedy, which only serves to heighten the humour, rather than clash with it. The movie had one moment that brought a tear to my eye, and 10 minutes latter another moment that made me laugh out loud – and that’s quite a balancing act.

Samberg and Milioti are supported by a great cast (including veterans like J. K. Simmons and Peter Gallagher, and relative newcomers like Camila Mendes and Tyler Hoechlin as the bride and groom), but this is unquestionably Samberg’s and Milioti’s film. Intelligent, sweet, emotional and, above all, funny, Palm Springs is a viewing experience that I’d happily relive time and time again (even without a time loop).