| Release date: 10 July 2020 (USA) Genre: Comedy, fantasy, mystery IMDb rating: 7.4 Director: Max Barbakow Cast: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, J. K. Simmons, Tyler Hoechlin, Camila Mendes |
A few weeks back I and my friends decided to have our movie night and as a certified cinephile™ it is always my responsibility to pick a fun and entertaining flick to appease the boys. I’ve shown them ‘Happy Death Day’ before which they really enjoyed so this time I decided to hit them with another time loop fantasy.
‘Palm Springs’ tells the story of Nyles and Sarah who get trapped in a time loop. After finding out that it is futile to escape, the duo decides it’s better to have a good time while being stuck together for eternity. Before you shrug your head thinking “oh great another time loop film” hear me out. It’s true, there’s been a fair share of this genre. But as with any genre, it’s how they handle the subject that matters. So we’ve had time loop films with aliens (‘Edge of Tomorrow’), train wrecks (‘Source Code’), serial killers (‘Game Over’), contract killers (‘Looper’), and whatever the hell ‘Primer’ was about. And this time we jump into the lives of Nyles and Sarah.
Disenchanted with life, love, and everything else Sarah finds herself intrigued by the carefree and casual Nyles, a guest at her sister’s wedding. One thing leads to another and unexpectedly Sarah finds herself trapped in a time loop with Nyles, waking up every day on the wedding day no matter what she tries. With the entirety of life now at her disposal Sarah begins to live life a little while Nyles begins to develop feelings for his time loop mate.
At its core ‘Palm Springs’ is a romantic comedy. It’s got all the laughs and all the feels but what I didn’t expect was the touching and wholesome approach to taking second chances in life and love.
It’s simply a rom-com with a sci-fi twist.
Sarah lives her day with deep regrets while Nyles has forgotten what it is to take risks and actually live. Now that both of them are stuck together it starts to bring them closer while also forcing them to face those issues head-on for once. It is expected that our romantic leads in a rom-com would fall in love sooner or later but the way they got there, along with the time loop element, makes ‘Palm Springs’ a fantastic movie.
Andy Samberg is a delight whatever show or movie he is in. It is so very easy to fall in love with the laidback and carefree Nyles who loves nothing more than cracking open a cold one and lounging in the pool. Spending an unholy amount of time in a time loop with no repercussions for his actions has changed Nyles’ expectations of life but getting stuck with Sarah gives him a chance to live life a little differently. Cristin Milioti as Sarah was another excellent casting. She beautifully brings the emotions of Sarah, an otherwise lovable and happy woman who made some bad choices, onto the screen. It was delightful and hilarious to see her and Samberg crackle with so much chemistry, which lends both credible romance and wholesome comedic moments to the film. And of course, J. K. Simmons is a bad-ass and is always a win no matter what movie he’s in!
Romance movies are not something I put on for movie nights with the boys because they simply won’t watch them. But even they couldn’t help but be charmed by the chemistry of Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti that was served with a big helping of sci-fi and comedy.
It was a rom-com alright and a damn good one at that. Certainly not to be missed!
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My rating: 8.5/10
