Mark Reviews Movies: PALM SPRINGS (2020)

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Review by Mark Dujsik | July 9, 2020

To be stuck living the same day would be a nightmare at first. That would be especially true if the day in question had you in a place away from the comfort of home, surrounded by strangers, only knowing a partner who doesn't care about you and about whom you don't care, and with the drama and pressure of a major event.

Waking up in a strange bed day after day can be discomforting enough. It would be even worse knowing that you're going to wake up in that bed to same sights and sounds, instantly and constantly reminding you that you're basically alone in this new reality. Even if you tried to convince someone of your plight, nobody would believe you, because nobody knows you and, hence, no one has a reason to believe you.

Eventually, though, you might get past all of that and find a sense of freedom. None of what you do matters, because everything in the world resets to the same day whenever you fall asleep. Think of the reckless, consequence-free fun you could have, knowing that no one will remember anything you did the next day—because the tomorrow, after all, is just today again with a clean slate.

Can one have an eternity of fun, though? Wouldn't you do everything you possibly wanted and could eventually? What happens after that?

That's the predicament of Nyles (Andy Samberg), one of the two protagonists of Palm Springs. He has been stuck in a time loop so long that he can't even remember what job he had before becoming trapped. He's stuck on the day of a wedding at a fancy desert resort, where people only know him as the boyfriend of one of the bride's friends.

He seems to have everybody's words and actions throughout the course of the day memorized, if an expertly maneuvered walk through rows of dancers is any indication. Nyles can hit bullseyes on a dartboard with ease and toss trash over his back directly into an unseen garbage can. For a while, he probably thought this was incredibly impressive. Now, though, Nyles is just miserable—unable to escape the loop by driving away, diving into the mysterious portal that caused the phenomenon in the first place, or even dying.

The story's central conceit isn't new, of course. Indeed, it has become something a trend in recent years, employed for drama, comedy, horror, and, naturally, science-fiction. This debut feature of director Max Barbakow and screenwriter Andy Siara, though, is a particularly special example of the gimmick. It's a comedy, for certain, in the way it uncovers the humor in Nyles' situation and how his character basically takes a laidback approach to something so inexplicable.

It's also a convincing—and convincingly tricky—romance. That begins when Nyles unintentionally leads Sarah (Cristin Milioti) to the cave where the loop-causing portal, opened by an earthquake that occurs every time around the wedding vows, is located. They'd probably have no time for each other in the world outside this phenomenon, but inside it, they only have each other and all the time in the world.

Sarah, the sister of the bride, becomes trapped after Nyles spares her a speech at the reception and flirts with her. Getting hot and heavy in the desert, Nyles is suddenly confronted—as in, shot in the shoulder with an arrow—by Roy (J.K. Simmons), whose own entrapment in the time loop is revealed later (and won't be detailed here, because the mystery of the character and his dogged pursuit of Nyles are the foundation of one of the film's funnier gags and, ultimately, one of its most potent scenes). Sarah follows Nyles into the portal, despite his repeated warnings, and finds herself awakening on the day she just experienced.

Sarah is terrified and angry, obviously, and after she stops trying to hit him, Nyles explains the mechanics of the time loop to her. There's no escape. Falling asleep or dying will result in them restarting the day. It's best just to embrace that none of it matters and have some fun while the fun lasts. After Sarah's shock wears off, they do have some fun and get to know each better. As all of this unfolds, we also realize how cleverly Siara uses Sarah's initial fear, tantalizing realization of the potential freedom of her situation, and mounting despair to mirror what Nyles has already done and learned. It has led him to become the cynical guy who sees no purpose to this kind of life—until, perhaps, he has someone with whom to share it.

Beneath all of this and more, then, exists a genuine philosophical questioning of the meaning behind it all. We're not talking about how this portal formed, why it does what it does, or any kind of nonsensically contrived scientific explanation for any of the story's setup (The film actually makes a gag out of evading such information, when a character uses the infinite time provided by the loop to dig into quantum physics).

The filmmakers have much bigger, much deeper, and much more uncomfortable things on their minds. The purpose of life is one of them. The possible meaningless of a life that has become repetitious, mundane, and without surprise is another. As for the central relationship, it's not as simple as two, mismatched people finding each other by chance or because of destiny. The film actually probes into this bond, examining if there's really anything healthy about a relationship that emerges on account of cosmic convenience and because there is literally nothing or nobody else in the world for them.

Samberg provides an engaging combination of sarcastic despondency and mischievous charm as Nyles, and Milioti effortlessly veers between the comedic beats of Sarah's evolving reaction to being trapped and the underlying pain of being stuck in this particular day. There's real chemistry between the two actors, which only highlights the conflicted feelings that emerge about the characters' all-too convenient and possibly co-dependent relationship.

The paths of this story, these characters, and this relationship constantly surprise. That's because Palm Springs isn't about its gimmick. Barbakow and Siara actually want to explore the ramifications of such a predicament on intimate and existential levels, and they do so with clever humor and genuine thoughtfulness.

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