'Palm Springs' Review

So here's the gist of the film: Nyles (Samberg) is stuck in a time loop, repeating the day of his girlfriend's best friend's wedding. Through various events, Sarah (Milioti), the bride's sister, is pulled into the time loop and inevitably, romance blossoms between them.

Samberg is his typical affable self and shows that while comedy is his strength, he is able to successfully dive into dramatic moments. Milioti I was not very familiar with prior to this film, but she is incredibly charismatic and I am definitely going to look out for her movies. Together, their chemistry is undeniable. The dynamic between the characters is realistic and in the end, you're rooting for them. J.K. Simmons is also in this movie and lends a strong performance as we have come to expect. (Yes his name was abruptly mentioned here, but so is his entrance into the movie - the movie admittedly did this more successfully than I).

Now I referred to the time loop as a twist/gimmick/schtick at the top of this review which may have given you the impression that I lean negatively towards this plot line. To clarify, I do not at all. While a time loop is a bit played out and typically elicits the comment, "ah, so it's Groundhog Day", I think it is used well and its effects are explored perfectly here.

One of my favourite turns happens towards the end of the movie. Sarah believes she has discovered a way out of the loop and she asks Nyles to join her. Nyles' hesitation to join Sarah in her experiment to return to normal life is not dictated by his fear that they will die but rather that it will work. While time loops are beyond our reality (for now), we can only imagine that finding yourself living the same day over and over again can take you on a roller coaster of emotions. Starting with incredulity, moving to anger and despair, depression, and probably just an acceptance that this is how it goes. And it is not outside the realm of possibility that you would in fact become comfortable with your circumstances to the point that you would have a real fear leaving it. Most time loop themed films typically see the characters working hard at breaking the loop and excited when they have a solution. This was a very refreshing take on the plot device.

We are not made aware of this time loop until just over 13 minutes into the movie. And if you in fact went into this movie 'fresh' (that is spoiler free), it is quite the fun reveal. It was also clever to have one character who has been living in the time loop for awhile and another who is just introduced to it. The reality of a time loop (if I'm even able to say that) is it would do a number on your mental health, which I think 'Palm Springs' illustrates very well.

So here's what I want to really talk about: MOVIE TRAILERS. The trailer for 'Palm Springs' clearly shows the time loop. In fact, all of the marketing for this movie post-Sundance did not make any secret of the loop, instead it used it as the selling point. Does this frustrate anyone else?

While this spoiler doesn't necessarily ruin the movie for viewers, it is clearly a plot point that Barbakow and writer, Andy Siara, conceded to have revealed for the sake of marketing. Spoilers have become so prevalent across all media these days and the reason for that is the insatiable desire to be first today. First to break a story whether it's right or wrong, first to share a spoiler whether it will ruin a film or not. So maybe Hulu just wanted to get ahead of the media and break their own story.

Overall, I really did enjoy this movie despite my whinging above and my usual distaste for the genre. It's thoughtful, clever, funny, and dives into the complexities of what a time loop will do to a person. There are some plot holes, but such is the way of time travel films and in a film like this, it isn't meant to be examined too heavily. A sequel could exist here of Nyles and Sarah adjusting to reality again, but I reckon that sequel will be dark and would not encompass the vibe of 'Palm Springs', although I would gladly welcome this.

'Palm Springs' is available exclusively on Hulu.

Let's start off with transparency and full disclosure: I do not typically like romantic comedies or romance films. I find them to be formulaic, unrealistic, and just eye roll inducing. That being said, there are the odd few I enjoy, 'When Harry Met Sally' (1989) comes to mind. Then there are the "rom-coms" that go against the grain, like '500 Days of Summer' (2009) and 'Celeste and Jesse Forever' (2012) which I absolutely love.

'Palm Springs' is Max Barbakow's directorial debut and stars Andy Samberg ('Saturday Night Live', 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine', 'Hot Rod') and Cristin Milioti ('How I Met Your Mother', 'Black Mirror'). The film doesn't go against the grain of typical romantic comedies but it certainly furthers the genre. There is a twist/gimmick/schtick to this movie that I don't want to reveal if you don't already know. So for those who don't want a spoiler here's my TL;DR review: it is a fun and sweet film with moments of pure hilarity that will entertain rom-com lovers and detractors alike; Samberg and Milioti have sparkling chemistry; go watch it.

Alright, here we go...SPOILERS AHEAD.