Sommerleigh Pollonais – Senior Writer
Most people would probably write off Palm Springs as a Groundhog Day knockoff. Those people would be doing this wonderfully funny and poignant movie a disservice.
The film stars Andy Samberg as Nyles, a somewhat odd but carefree man who meets Sara (Cristin Milioti), a reluctant maid of honor, at her sister’s wedding. Things get complicated when they both get stuck at the venue and are forced to repeat the same day over and over again.
Like most fans of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, I went into this expecting a straight forward comedy. But Andy proves without a doubt he’s so much more than just another funny guy. The movie and the actors manage to deliver a story that’s equal parts laugh out loud funny as well as bittersweet and heartfelt. Being stuck in a time loop means shenanigans are bound to happen and I found myself grinning and cringing at the antics our leads got up to. Samberg and Milioti have a wonderfully natural chemistry between them, that made it easy to follow along with their crazy adventures and the rest of the cast (when they got their moments to shine) are all enjoyable in their own way, with the standout being J.K. Simmons, an actor who seems incapable of giving a bad performance.
Palm Springs manages to deliver the laughs, while unpacking some heavy themes as well. Nyles is a man stuck in his life. He has given up on anything ever changing and has resigned himself to what he believes is the inevitability of it all. Sara, however, is a woman who is full of regrets and slowly begins to see it’s never too late to change. Never going late to jump off of the revolving track of bad decisions and to learn from her mistakes, instead of constantly repeating them. See what I mean about heavy themes?
It’s a beautifully funny story, with a likeable cast, that manages to take the well worn trope of time travel/loops and make it all feel fresh and fun again.
Rating: 7 out of 10
For my review of The Kissing Booth 2 you can click here.
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
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