Palm Springs is ‘Groundhog Day’ With A Refreshing Twist
Comedy/Sci-Fi
Directed by Max Barbakow
Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, Camila Mendes, Meredith Hagner, J.K. Simmons
Palm Springs is the perfect comedy for a pandemic-stricken world where every single day feels the same.
By Hannah Gillihan
It’s been a year since the pandemic started, and we’re all tired. Every monotonous day runs right into the next, each of us spending endless hours on screens for both work and relaxation. Meetings take place via zoom, masks are to be worn in any public area, social gatherings of any kind have been re-structured to be done in isolation online. We might not be a “Groundhog Day” type of time loop — but it certainly feels like it when little changes each day and the burnout sets in.
Palm Springs, feature film debut of director Max Barbakow, is yet another take on the “Groundhog Day” time-loop premise, though it feels eerily applicable to the world today, in a way that it did not when it premiered at Sundance months before the pandemic began. But, at a time where people are starting to feel like nothing really matters anymore since every day is the same, it is the perfect comedy to watch.
The film is set in, you guessed it, Palm Springs, California, following Nyles (Andy Samberg) and Sarah (Cristin Milioti), indifferent guests at Sarah’s sister’s joyous wedding. Right off the bat, Sarah seems obviously haunted by her past, living in her younger sister’s shadow, while Nyles has a weirdly charming, carefree attitude — a “nothing matters” kind of guy. He doesn’t seem to care that his girlfriend (Meredith Hagner) is cheating on him, he doesn’t seem to care about this wedding, he showed up to the ceremony in a Hawaiian T-shirt, and seems to find humor in the seriousness of everyone else. When he and Sarah officially meet, he is a little too smooth, but the two hit it off. The catch? Nyles has been stuck in a time loop for ‘years,’ living this same day over and over — and Sarah gets sucked into this time loop with him.
To Nyles, this is simply something he has to endure, and he has succumbed to his fate. Sarah, however, is extremely motivated to find a way out. She tries everything, despite Nyles’ warning that he’s tried everything over the years, with no luck. Even after trying to kill themselves multiple times, the two wake up to the same day, every day. The two eventually decide to live out this carefree lifestyle of shenanigans together, messing with the wedding, other locals, crashing people’s homes, etc.
What makes Palm Springs so different than the other films in this particular genre, is that both Nyles and Sarah are given equal weight as characters, and neither character’s end goal is to “change” the other person. Sarah isn’t going to fix the nihilistic, pessimistic, carefree Nyles, and Nyles isn’t going to fix Sarah’s past, nor will she become a sex object for him. The two get to crack jokes and be sad, witty, stressed, hilarious, and complicated — and Samberg and Milioti do this perfectly. Their comedic timing is phenomenal, but their ability to quickly switch to more dramatic and emotional scenes is even better. The sci-fi element comes into play later, but for the most part, Palm Springs is grounded in a deeply human way. Sarah and Nyles, despite their myriad of issues, are one of the more charming onscreen couples I’ve seen in the last few years. You can’t help but root for them, and that is completely due to the writing of the characters, but mostly Samberg and Milioti’s performances.
The film, at heart, is a love story, though it isn’t naïve or outdated about romantic relationships. Deeper than that, it’s directed at those who are a little more nihilist towards life — and really, who hasn’t been feeling that way throughout the course of the pandemic. It’s almost comforting to see an enjoyable film speak to a specific area of discomfort we’ve all been experiencing over the last year. But the film really drives home the idea that no matter how monotonous, or how tedious life may seem, there is always some sort of joy to be found — especially in companionship. Palm Springs is the perfect package of comedy, sci-fi, romance, and drama for the 21st century viewer, and I can’t wait to watch it over. And over. And over. And over.
