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‘Palm Springs’ a clever, thoughtful spin on ‘Groundhog Day’

by Tyler Wilson
| July 21, 2020 12:12 PM

“Groundhog Day” endures as one of cinema’s all-time great comedies. It’s the reason so many movies (especially Hallmark Christmas movies, it seems) try to recreate the premise of a character forced to relive the same day over-and-over again.

Movies like “Edge of Tomorrow” and “Happy Death Day” successfully apply the time loop plot to different genres, but comedies of this type often don’t deviate enough from the “Groundhog Day” staples.

“Palm Springs,” the time loop rom-com exclusive to the Hulu streaming service, works for a number of reasons, including the strong use of a charismatic cast, a wicked sense of humor and the script’s ability to build a thoughtful character study on top of the comedy.

It also succeeds in how it adapts the time loop narrative. Instead of one person living through the same day for all eternity, “Palm Springs” throws a few different characters into the loop. Sara (Cristin Milioti) and Nyles (Andy Samberg) are attendees of a wedding in the desert just outside Palm Springs. Sara is the bride’s sister, while Nyles is (seemingly) the drunken, screwup boyfriend of another bridesmaid.

The opening sequence explains how Sara gets caught in the loop while revealing the premise’s key change - Nyles has been stuck in the time loop for a while. A long, long while. The change allows “Palm Springs” to skim through much of the film’s “rules,” and it’s especially funny to see the hopeless Nyles react to Sara’s futile attempts to escape the timeline.

The film also includes another time loop participant - J.K. Simmons as another wedding attendee who accidentally joined the nightmare at some point prior to Sara. Blaming Nyles for his fate, Simmon’s character spends much of his time torturing Nyles in particularly sadistic ways. It’s obviously a role well-suited for Simmons, and the movie takes the time to explore the character beyond its seemingly villainous origins.

Milioti, perhaps best known for TV stints on “How I Met Your Mother” and “Fargo,” is a charismatic force in “Palm Springs,” playing a woman trapped in a cycle of self-destruction long before the loop trapped her. She sparks with Samberg, the Lonely Island performer and star of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” and Samberg incorporates welcome nuance to his goofball persona, as the movie’s final act hinges on believing Nyle’s hopelessness. It’s the best performances of both Milioti and Samberg’s careers, and their chemistry pops more than, dare I say it, Bill Murray and Andie McDowell in “Groundhog Day.”

Directed with confidence by Max Barbakow (in his directorial debut) and anchored by a delightfully nerdy screenplay by Andy Siara, “Palm Springs” also deviates from “Groundhog Day” by leaning into the scientific theory behind the time loop. Many of the film’s biggest comedic and dramatic moments stem from how the characters learn how to stop focusing on the metaphorical reasons for their conundrum. They don’t need to learn how to be “good people.” Instead, they need to science their way out of their situation.

“Palm Springs” slayed at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and Hulu acquired the film (which is produced by Samberg’s Lonely Island crew) for a record price tag. It would have played great on the big screen, but the relive-the-same-day premise feels especially appropriate watching at home during this weird quarantine year. At least Sara and Nyles have a pool and an open bar at their disposal.

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Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com. He’s been writing professionally about movies since 2000 and is the co-host of Old Millennials Remember Movies, available everywhere you get podcasts and at OldMillennialsRemember.com.