At a Wedding, Two Strangers Go Through a Strange Time, Many Times

Cristin Milioti and Andy Samberg in "Palm Springs"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

The notion of a time loop has found its way into multiple genres, whether it be comedy for “Groundhog Day,” science-fiction for “Edge of Tomorrow,” or horror with “Happy Death Day.”  As this premise unfolds over several different types of film, there’s a guarantee that there will be a fresh quirk or two when it’s presented within a new setup.

Although we’ve seen time loops on several occasions in film, director Max Barbakow offers a fun contribution to this popular storytelling device with his romantic comedy, “Palm Springs,” a funny and surprisingly poignant stuck-in-time scenario with two well-matched lead performances.

During a wedding weekend at Palm Springs, Sarah (Cristin Milioti) is just trying to get through her sister’s nuptials with as little trouble as possible.  During the evening, she meets fellow wedding guest Nyles (Andy Samberg), and they click.  Circumstances soon arise that have them caught in a time loop and reliving the day of the wedding over and over again, and they realize that they’ll have to work together if they’re going to find a way out of their bizarre situation.

Sandberg and Milioti create an abundance of energy as a newly formed couple who must put their wits together and break the cycle of time in which they’re stuck.  Their instant chemistry makes it more than apparent that, if anything, their performances alone will make the movie worth watching, and their connection is an irresistible invitation to join them on their wild antics and to further understand them and their issues.  Between the freedom to do what they wish without consequences to the growing hopelessness of their situation, we’re able to see the acting range of both them as they take part in both the humorous and troubling aspects with being caught in a time loop.  With the palpable charisma that Sandberg and Milioti bring to the movie, this is a wedding weekend that promises a great time.

J.K. Simmons turns in a terrific supporting performance as Roy, another guest at the wedding.  I can’t go into much detail about his character without giving away some aspects of the plot, but it’s a performance that further strengthens the notion that Simmons should be offered the lead in a comedy at some point.  It’s sometimes easy to forget how funny of a performer he is, thanks to his intense performance from “Whiplash” that still lingers in my mind.  But, once again, he shows a natural talent to make us laugh.

As I said, time-loops may feel a tad overdone, but screenwriter Andy Siara still manages to wring out some creativity from this familiar framework.  He builds the story around the relationship between Nyles and Sarah, offering them a chance to live with a devil-may-care attitude from day to day, but then allows them to analyze their troubles and slowly mature.  It’s here where the film surprised me the most, as it showed that the time-loop setup wasn’t going to be played just for laughs, but also for some genuine emotion and character development.  As Nyles and Sarah ponder their existence and the meaning of living when it concerns going through the same day endlessly, we’re given something that helps the movie to diverge a bit from similar stories.  This dramatic angle in the film has Nyles and Sarah not only trying to break out of the actual time loop, but also their own figurative time loops of destructive behavior.

As a director, Barbakow handles the tonal shifts well between the comedy, dark comedy, and drama that befalls the main characters.  During the scenes in which Nyles and Sarah take part in their time-loop escapades, Barbakow keeps the pace alive as the two main characters exchange quick-witticisms and construct insane ways to make their situation enjoyable.  But, he’s then able to slow the movie down when he needs to in order to take on a contemplative approach as Nyles and Sarah analyze their situation and what it means in terms of living, drawing on the connection between the two leads and their ability to handle both the comical and dramatic sides to their characters.

Despite the time-loop premise feeling as familiar as the repeating events in which Nyles and Sarah find themselves, “Palm Springs” is time well spent.

Grade: A-