Andy Samberg is one of the strongest voices in the modern comedy scene, having built a cult following on Saturday Night Live for his zany digital shorts and transferring that into superstar appeal with police comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Even given all that talent and success, the thought of mixing his quirky, over-the-top comedy with the plot of Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day is something of a tough sell. What could Samberg possibly bring to the table that wouldn’t feel like a cheap imitation? I’m happy to report that the answer to that question is “a hell of a lot”. Palm Springs is Samberg’s best performance to date – with the funnyman digging into a dramatic side most audiences wouldn’t think he had – in an extremely charming, funny and surprisingly deep journey to find purpose in a life that is only ever lived for one extremely repetitive day.
Sandberg plays Nyles, a cynical alcoholic forced to relive the wedding of Abe (Tyler Hoechlin) and his girlfriend Misty’s (Meredith Hagner) best friend Tala (Camila Mendes) on a loop, thanks to an ill advised trip to a nearby cave in the idyllic Palm Springs desert. With Nyles slowly descending into a pit of laziness and despair, all seems lost until he woos Tala’s sister Sarah (Cristin Milioti). When an incident results in Sarah following Nyles into the time loop cave, she finds herself stuck in the same cycle, cursed to relive not only the wedding, but some incredibly personal and destructive secrets. As Nyles spends more and more time with Sarah he rediscovers his lust for life, falling head over heels as he learns just how important connection is to the human experience and how essential Sarah’s company has become. Hanging over Nyles’ head this whole time is the ever-present threat of Roy (J.K. Simmons), a fellow prisoner in the time-loop with a vendetta against Nyles, constantly on the hunt to capture, torture and kill him in ridiculously over-the-top ways.
What is most surprising about Palm Springs is just how well the film balances the zany, quirky comedy with the more poignant, dramatic moments. Scenes where Nyles and later Sarah get into all sorts of nonsensical shenanigans are just as hilarious as you would expect; from stealing and crashing a plane to choreographing entire, overcomplicated dance routines. A lot of these sequences are carried out through the use of montages – riffing on Groundhog Day and other 80’s comedies – but a surprising amount of character development is snuck in to these scenes; as the increasingly strange pranks bring Sarah’s previously high-strung, self-loathing personality in line with Nyles’ carefree outlook on life, as she learns to not take herself too seriously. Nyles in turn realises the impact that surrounding yourself with good people can have on life and begins to open himself up and share with Sarah. When the comedy simmers down and the dramatic scenes rise to the forefront, you understand perfectly where these people are at in their relationships and care that much more about them when the eventual spanners are thrown into the works late in the film. It’s a credit to director Max Barbakow that these montage scenes – a technique generally written off as filler – say so much without exposition dumps or otherwise contrived rom-com tropes.
A huge chunk of that credit also goes to Samberg and Milioti, who prove to have tremendous chemistry together as they bounce off each other with sharp-tongued jokes and smart-assery. Samberg definitely gets his Jake Peralta moments in here, going into comedy overdrive with his trademark exaggeration and face pulling. It works here as well as it works in Nine-Nine with several grand moments that have Nyles taking centre stage at the wedding and making a giant fool of himself. The time-loop conceit provides a fresh canvas for Samberg and Milioti to go as big as they want time and time again, as no one from the wedding actually remembers anything they have done previously – to hilarious effect. Milioti proves herself a more than worthy scene partner for Samberg’s antics, matching his intensity and sometimes surpassing it as her reaction to her predicament is much newer and less measured than Nyles, who has been stuck for an indeterminately long period. Likewise, she handles the dramatic moments excellently. The character of Sarah is saddled with far more baggage than Nyles and Milioti’s raw and genuine performance goes a long way to keep the character charming and likeable, even after we discover her past mistakes.
Outside of the strong performances and constant stream of jokes, what you’re left with is a fairly standard romantic comedy plot, following most of the genre’s typical twists and turns to a conclusion you can pretty much guess a mile off. It’s not a dealbreaker by any means as the film does a hell of a lot to differentiate itself from the rest of the pack, but at the end of the day you’re not going to be blown away by some pivotal twist at the eleventh hour. It’s also slightly disappointing that the film features such a phenomenal supporting cast of comedic talent who never truly get a chance to shine. Connor O’Malley and Chris Pang get a few solid laughs as a groomsman and officiant respectively (the sight gag of Pang’s outfit alone is gold) but nothing that resembles any sort of character development. Likewise Meredith Hagner’s Misty is incapable of taking any responsibility for her terrible actions against Nyles, a plot thread which pops up a few times and always seems like it is being built up for some larger arc for her to reflect on herself, but which never arrives at any payoff. Again, the film is clearly centred around Nyles and Sarah so this isn’t a huge surprise, but it would be nice to see more from these young comedic talents. The only side-arc that gets any closure is J.K. Simmons who is perfectly cast as the overly aggressive and misunderstood Roy. Drawing on his experience as the always angry J. Jonah Jameson, Simmons goes to some pretty dark (yet funny) places in his quest for revenge before ultimately finding peace in his predicament, giving the character a nicely cathartic send-off.
Andy Samberg has come a long way in his comedic career and it has never been more apparent than in Palm Springs, a film that is so endlessly watchable thanks to its clever blend of sci-fi, humour, heart and Samberg’s career-best performance. Cristin Milioti is an excellent scene partner for the SNL veteran and the pair’s chemistry and banter is so good that it becomes easy to overlook the fairly paint-by-numbers plot and the underuse of the film’s smorgasbord of fresh young comedic talent. Despite its similarities to Groundhog Day, Palm Springs manages to be just as essential to the romantic comedy genre, a modern twist that takes the concept and repurposes it for a new generation in hilarious fashion. Like its time loop premise, this is a film that you’ll be watching again and again for years to come, hell I’ve watched it twice in the few days it has been out already.
Palm Springs stars Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, Meredith Hagner, Peter Gallagher, Tyler Hoechlin, Camila Mendes, Chris Pang, Connor O’Malley, Dale Dickey & J.K Simmons – Streaming on Amazon Prime in Australia now and on Hulu in the US.