It took a generation of kids growing up, watching Bill Murray’s weatherman in Groundhog Day, to put some interesting spins on the “relive the same day” movie motif. Live Die Repeat had us kill Tom Cruise in increasingly amusing ways; Happy Death Day put a sorority girl through the ringer. And now, we go to the Lonely Island, who have already made a brilliant movie about pop singers, to give us a baja fresh California take on time loops.
We open on your standard romcom meet cute: a wedding! Sarah (Cristin Milioti, the Mother in HIMYM), the eye rolling sister of the bride (Camila Mendes), could not be less happy to be at this wedding. Desperate for something exciting, in walks Nyles (Andy Samberg), saving her from delivering a maid of honor speech. Instantly smitten, the pair is in the midst of hooking up when crazy forces intervene, and Sarah awakes. On the same day. As the wedding. And why does Nyles seem cool with it?
It’s a long standing trope in these time loop films that the protagonist must arrive at some sort of emotional personal catharsis: where they decide to become a better person and live life accordingly. The small but clever twist in Palm Springs that opens up the storytelling is that we have more than one person entering the time loop. Nyles, the seasoned vet, has already gone through his stages of grief and hit acceptance, choosing to live his best life in a relatively charming carefree way that doesn’t hurt people. So when Sarah enters the loop, he’s the Obi Wan to her Luke, as she goes through the same beats he did, just in faster, very amusing montages. In that way, Palm Springs flies straight past the natural end point of most films of this sort. So in this new unknown, what is catharsis? Well, to the surprise of no one, Nyles has accepted his life, but that life is perpetually lonely. Palm Springs slowly shows how rewarding it is to find one of those one in a million companions, who help fill that very human need for companionship and love, usually through shared experiences.
And so starts a unique romcom courtship. But that courtship is necessary for Palm Springs to work: it grounds the movie. Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti are excellent together, and play off each other nicely, with Nyles having answers for every Sarah question. Samberg is the world weary smartass, a more reserved version of his Brooklyn 99 Character. Milioti plays the hot mess, a jaded cynic bent on personal self destruction…which the world has now robbed her of. Getting the big twist out of the way early, the screenplay keeps the audience on their toes with a couple really well conceived surprises that help make Nyles and Sarah more interesting, investing you in their healing together. While this seems heavy, Milioti and Samberg’s strengths are their comic timing, which keep Palm Springs light and breezy most of the time, allowing for those emotionally impactful moments to hit harder.
There are worse ways to live out the rest of your days partying at a California wedding with Andy Samberg. Palm Springs is a nice little salve in 2020. At times I feel like the days repeat ad nauseum, and time has lost all meaning. So what does that mean? Find the meaning again! Let’s start on a Lazy Sunday.