Palm Springs review

 

Starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioto Palm Springs is a wild ride of fun, adventure, time loops and sunshine. Right from the get go Palm Springs is a laugh a minute as Adam Samberg's character Nyles wakes up, has some alone time with his girlfriend and begins to get ready for a wedding at a lavish and luxurious venue. His girlfriend is a bridesmaid to the bride, while at the wedding reception we meet Sarah sister of the bride. Played by Cristin Milioti she is a complex character who almost immediately begins to click with Nyles as the two share drinks and joke the night away. While outside about to get busy they get interrupted by a man dressed in high tech, army like gear. He fires a bow at Nyles and hits him right in the back with an arrow. Obviously shocked by the developments Sarah screams and yells for help as Nyles begins to crawl away. He eventually arrives at the entrance to a cave that just embodies a really bright light. Sarah is hot on his tail and sees him enter. The next thing Sarah knows is that she wakes up in her room but it's the same day again? spooked out by this she confronts Nyles who doesn't seem fazed by any of this and that's because he has been living the same day over and over again for some time. By entering the cave and the light inside he was brought back to the day of the wedding and he has been doing so for a long, long time. 

From here Palm Springs revolves into the usual time travel / loop concept of montages, playfulness and sense of dread as our characters or at least Sarah in this case try to escape the loop. It's all cliche stuff but it's really elevated from some really impressive performances. First is Andy Samberg's Nyles who is corny, quick witted and seemingly enjoying the never ending life that the time loop has given him. Cristin Milioti who plays Sarah couldn't be anymore of an opposite to him as she wants out of the loop at all costs. She's not really the greatest of people in all honesty. Shunned sort of by her parents and deemed a drunk and failure her journey throughout the movie is quite heartwarming and by the end it's all wrapped up into a nice tidy bow. Her performance is easily the highlight of the movie as she ranges from sad and funny to dramatic and rage induced. 

Palm Springs is a breath of fresh air and overall a nice change of perspective on the whole time loop concept. There's more than enough here to satisfy any movie lover with some really good life lessons learned along the way. The story is pretty standard but with some great performances and some really tight witty writing Palm Springs is well worth your time visiting over and over again.

★★★★