One of the latest films to be released in a post-pandemic world, Palm Springs is a delight. The film takes places in Palm Springs, where Sarah (Cristin Miloti) is attending her sister’s wedding. An incident with a rogue guest, Nyles (Andy Samberg) leads to a time loop. While this will not be a new concept to audiences, the movie does a great job at blending late night humour with enough heart warming moments to set itself apart.
The quirkyness (is that word still allowed?) of the main heroine Sarah combined with the cheekiness of Andy Samberg’s Nyles create one of the most addictive lead couples I’ve seen in a while. Cristin Miloti shines, she is captivating in every scene, completely winning me over. This is a bit of a departure for her, audiences will most likely recognise her as How I Met Your Mother‘s Tracy (the mother!) and most of her roles since have been of the same sort of adorkable, girl next door, nice. As is evident very soon into the movie, Sarah is not that nice – or (dare I say?) bland. She’s the black sheep of the family, and has self-destructive and selfish streaks. She’s complex and so interesting.
Nyles is the perfect foil to bring out the multitudes in Sarah’s personality. He’s loud, and whatever the opposite of self-conscious is. While audiences will most likely remember Andy Samberg as Brooklyn Nine Nine‘s Jake Peralta, Palm Springs‘ allows Samberg to play a role less PG, and more reminiscent of his SNL or Lonely Island characters.
While the concept of a time loop is not new, what Palm Springs has done really well is what happens during it. Sure, there’s lots of regular stuff – the confusion, the attempts to get out – but the film isn’t really about that. (They also don’t answer all the questions about the science of the time loop, so this is not the place to be looking for a realistic offering.) The fun of this film lies in the journey they go through as partners. I wouldn’t even call it a love story, or even romantic in any sense. This is just a fun movie with ongoing shenanigans. The more heartfelt parts also pair perfectly, it doesn’t feel out of place. I had fun with Sarah and Nyles in their journey, going through the same day over and over.
MY THOUGHTS
Why I would recommend watching this film:
- The main characters are fascinating, and get you to root for them.
- Andy Samberg, and Cristin Miloti – who doesn’t love them?!
- It’s available now to watch on Amazon Prime, which means you can watch it from the comfort of your living room… or your kitchen … or your bed.
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