REVIEW: Palm Springs
I'm a sucker for a good romantic comedy and, so, I was excited to check out Palm Springs, a fun new original romantic comedy now streaming on Hulu.
The film follows Nyles (Andy Samberg) and Sarah (Cristin Milioti) who find themselves in a time loop at Sarah's sister's wedding. Samberg has been trapped in it for awhile and helps Sarah deal with it. But, what do you do when you live the same day over and over again? We follow their exploits as they learn to live in the time loop.
In all honesty, I'm not an Andy Samberg fan. I have nothing against him. I just haven't watched much stuff with him in it. But, I decided to watch it based on the trailer. I'm a fan of Groundhog Day and this is a similar concept.
I'm glad I watched it as I found this film to be a lot more emotionally complex than it originally seems. Nyles is a destructive narcissist while Sarah is the black sheep of her family. The two are more involved in themselves that it literally takes them what seems like years to realize that what they need is right in front of them.
I love that kind of science fiction element to a romantic comedy and a time loop allows for great conversations about the meaning of life.
Samberg really impressed me as a lead in a romantic comedy. He has this goofy charm that just makes him appealing. Milioti is a great match for Samberg as she has the ability to do wacky comedy and then make you fall in love with her. JK Simmons is great as Roy, another person stuck in the loop with them. He blames Nyles for getting him in this mess and is constantly trying to hunt him down and seek his revenge.
There were times when I genuinely laughed out loud which bodes well, obviously, for a comedy. I thought it was sincere and I liked the situations they found themselves in.
The film is definitely intended for mature audiences. There are themes of suicide, death and existentialism. There is also language and sexual content.
If you love a good screwball comedy, Palm Springs is for you. It's got a lot of laughs without becoming unbearingly obnoxious. It's the perfect movie for being stuck at home.